From Corsica to the Fourth Rome.

Chapter 381 Treaty of Turin
Three days later, the clouds disappeared and the rain stopped, the sky was clear, but Turin inside and outside had become a vast ocean.

On the west side where the terrain is lower, the deepest water is high enough to cover an adult's neck. It is impossible to see what the road conditions are like under the yellow-brown water surface filled with impurities. Citizens who are not good at swimming even risk drowning during daily travel.

The situation in the eastern part of the city was not much better. The water level in most streets had reached the chest of an adult man. This depth was enough to submerge nearly one-third of the low-rise houses in Turin, leaving nearly 60,000 people homeless and displaced.

Even the residence of His Majesty the King, the Royal Palace of Turin, was not spared from this catastrophe. Although the courtiers in the palace tried their best to prevent the flood from pouring in, it was ultimately in vain.

The king's favorite back garden, the Florentine Baroque-style garden, has now been occupied by a stinking flood. The precious orchids and vanilla, and the priceless nanmu furniture, seem to have to soak in the water and wait to rot.

The entire first floor of the palace, as well as the exquisite and luxurious courtyards, fountains, theaters and churches inside, all became muddy and dirty within these three days.

Even Carlo Emmanuele III himself was forced to move into a room on the upper floors of the palace despite his leg problems.

Humiliation, unprecedented humiliation. In his more than 40 years of ruling the country, Carlo Emanuele III had never suffered such a great humiliation.

However, compared with the plight of Turin and the suffering of the people, the old king could not care about his own honor or disgrace:
Now nearly one-third of the city's population is homeless and has no place to live, which is definitely a top priority for Carlo Emanuele III as the weather turns cooler in late October.

Every night, countless people could not even find a place to stay, and had to stay awake all night wearing thin, damp shirts in the cold autumn wind. As a result, countless people caught a cold, and had high fevers.

Lucky citizens were able to pick up some wooden planks and piece them together into simple floating platforms, but most people could only sleep on the roofs of flooded houses.

Although Carlo Emmanuele III was trying his best to coordinate the resettlement of these citizens, not only did he open the town hall and government department buildings to the public, he even set aside an area in the bastion where the army was stationed and the Royal Palace of Turin to accommodate the refugees.

However, these measures can only accommodate a few thousand people at most, which is undoubtedly just a drop in the bucket compared to the 60,000 displaced people.

In addition, the city of Turin is not only facing food shortages, but even clean water has become a huge problem.

You have to know that the chest-deep water in the city was all backflowing from the sewers. Moreover, the streets of European cities are already filthy and dirty, and no one knows how many rotting corpses of snakes, insects, rats, ants and other animals were soaked in the water.

Even just one look at the disgusting yellowish water surface and a smell of the pungent stench that is everywhere, no one would want to let even a drop of water from it touch their mouth.

But where can people get clean water?

Almost every well was submerged by the flood, and the groundwater was also polluted. The royal palace and the nobles could filter and boil the sewage for drinking, but what could ordinary people do? They might not even have enough firewood in the cold winter, so how could they make a fire and boil water at this time?

In the first two days, people could still collect clean rainwater from the downpour, but as the clouds cleared yesterday, the little clean water that citizens had was about to be used up.

Some desperate citizens didn't care about anything else and just jumped into the sewage and started drinking it. As a result, many people suffered from diarrhea and high fever that afternoon, and many died of dehydration.

In almost every street in Turin, one could see bloated corpses floating on the water, and the living did not even have the energy to sympathize or pray for the dead.

What's even more terrible is that, as the saying goes, there will be a great epidemic after a flood. Although it is not certain whether an infectious plague has broken out in Turin, the remaining citizens can't help but feel panic-stricken and terrified when seeing the hundreds of people suffering from high fever due to colds or dysentery.

After all, no one knew whether a man lying unconscious in a corner was infected with cholera or plague.

Carlo Emmanuele III also ordered doctors and scholars from the University of Turin to help citizens prevent the epidemic, but those scholars were in trouble themselves at the time and were of no use at all.

Despair, boundless despair. No one knows how long such days will last, and no one knows whether they can survive such a catastrophe.

At this time, the 200,000 people in Turin were like a huge powder keg. They were sad, angry, and hateful, not only towards the Corsicans outside the city, but also towards those high-ranking officials who were in office but doing nothing, and His Majesty the King in the deep palace.

Carlo Emmanuele III's order to cut rations and re-collect grain reserves became the first spark that ignited this powder keg.

At noon on October 10, Piazza San Martino was already crowded with thousands of refugees, who were hungry and depressed, but still eagerly awaiting the arrival of today's food rations.

This square is one of the few high grounds in the city and is not greatly affected by the flood. Therefore, countless refugees have flocked here in the past few days. Fifty people can be squeezed into an open space the size of a courtyard, and the entire square is crowded with thousands of citizens seeking refuge from the disaster.

Soon, a municipal director, dozens of officials and police, escorted a batch of grain carts into the square.

Upon seeing this, the citizens immediately stood up and scrambled to line up around the carriage. Their daily ration was only this meal. If they did not get food here, they would have to tighten their belts and have difficulty sleeping tonight.

Municipal bureaucrats and police first spent a while maintaining order, stopping and arresting a dozen refugees who were fighting for the front position, and then began distributing today's rations.

However, every citizen who received the rations immediately fell silent. They looked at the food in their hands and could not believe that this was their food for the whole day:
A thin slice of bread and a bowl of suspiciously smelling, bland, watery vegetable stew, still cold.

This was the daily quota for adult men. As for women and children, they didn't even get a piece of bread, only a bowl of so-called vegetable stew.

In just a moment, complaints and roars echoed throughout Piazza San Martino:
"What a joke! I was able to get a piece of bread yesterday, but today I only get this small piece?!"

"I handed in three bags of flour, which should have been enough to last me till winter, but now I can only get one piece of bread a day?!"

"Damn it! My bread is moldy! How can anyone eat it?"

"There are dead rats and cockroaches in my soup!"

Thousands of refugees waved their fists in anger and approached the municipal director and the grain transport convoy step by step.

The supervisor was so frightened that he dropped the account book in his hand. In front of him were thousands of refugees who were filled with grief and indignation. It was impossible for him and dozens of policemen to deal with them alone.

Just when the situation was becoming increasingly difficult to control, an officer suddenly arrived at the scene with more than a hundred soldiers.

Seeing the army coming in, the refugees who were cheering and waving their arms suddenly became much more restrained.

But they did not disperse, and the anger and resentment in their hearts did not dissipate. Everyone still stood there and stared at these uninvited guests coldly.

The municipal director was immediately relieved. Although he didn't know the purpose of this army's visit, he hurried forward to shake hands with the officer and thank him:
"You arrived just in time, sir, otherwise I would have been beaten to death by these unruly people. If your troops have no other tasks, I wonder if you can help us maintain order at the scene. Today's rations will be distributed soon."

"Maintaining order? Sorry, we have other tasks right now."

The officer sneered, not hiding his contempt for the group of unruly people in front of him. He walked straight to a grain carriage, patted the axle, and ordered loudly:
"Someone, move all these carriages back to the Southwest Bastion!"

Not only did the citizens present stare with wide eyes, even the municipal director was shocked and hurriedly stopped him:
"What are you doing? Sir, these are the rations to be distributed to the citizens!"

The officer paid no attention to the municipal director at all. While ordering his men to start driving the carriage, he leisurely took out a cut cigar and put it in his mouth. In Turin at that time, the living conditions of these soldiers were undoubtedly the best.

He puffed away at the spot for a long time, not caring about the hateful looks of the citizens, and then threw the half-smoked cigar in his hand into the puddle at his feet:
"I am the grain collector of the city defense force. My mission is to collect the grain reserves from the people once again. It just so happens that your rationed grain has not been distributed yet, so we don't have to get it back from these peasants."

The citizens who heard this were stunned. They couldn't believe that they had witnessed such a ridiculous scene with their own eyes.

The city hall had not even distributed the relief food to them before the army had to collect the food again and hand it over to their superiors.

What on earth is this, transferring money from one hand to another? What about these hungry civilians?! Is this world really so absurd?!
The municipal director was also shocked. He opened his mouth wide and squeezed out a sentence after a long time:

"But, what should these disaster victims do?"

The officer obviously had no patience left. He scratched his ears and sighed:

"My friend, your mission is to distribute food to civilians, and my mission is to collect food from civilians. So why bother? I can just take this convoy away, and we can have the best of both worlds. Now, stop talking nonsense. I haven't completed my grain collection target for today."

The officer spoke lightly, not caring about the people in the square at all. In his eyes, those who had to crowd into Piazza San Martino to receive rations were just the lowest class of poor people in the city.

There was silence. Everyone was silent at this absurd scene, and in this silence, endless anger was quietly brewing.

Rumors were already rife in the city as to why the ration had been suddenly cut.

Some people said that it was because of the good-for-nothings in the army who did not take good care of the food, and all the food reserves handed over by the citizens were destroyed in the flood. Others said that this was a microcosm of the corruption within the army, and the food they handed over was either circulated on the black market or was handed over to the bigwigs by flattering officers.

But no matter what the truth was, when they saw that the army in front of them was actually going to take away their last bit of life-saving food, everyone became strangely angry.

A citizen who could no longer bear it jumped out, and he directly blocked the convoy, cursing:

"Are you going to watch your compatriots starve to death in the royal city of Turin? You traitor to your countrymen!"

The officer chuckled disdainfully and said:
"Traitor? I am a soldier, and a soldier's duty is to obey. The collection of grain reserves is the order of His Majesty the King, and all I have to do is to carry it out to the end. But you, a lunatic, are you questioning His Majesty's decision? Do you want to hand over Turin to the Corsicans?"

This series of interrogations was terrifying. During wartime, no one dared to be charged with treason.

The citizen took a step back subconsciously.

However, he was surprised to find that, at some point, a human wall consisting of dozens of indignant citizens had appeared behind him.

Everyone glared at the leading officer with sharp eyes, as if the words just now had not entered their ears at all.

They knew they were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, but they still risked their lives.

"Fuck you!"

The citizen stopped retreating, clenched his fists, and unexpectedly rushed towards the officer:

"What does it matter if it's the king's order? A king who doesn't care about his people doesn't deserve our support!"

With this roar, the riot began.

All the refugees in Piazza San Martino gathered together and completely surrounded the troops that tried to take away the rationed food.

The soldiers raised their muskets and tried to resist, but the two sides were too close to each other. They didn't even have time to reload their ammunition or equip their bayonets before they were overwhelmed by the citizens who rushed in.

The officer had already been completely killed in the beating by the crowd. Perhaps he would never believe until his death that this group of damned peasants dared to attack a noble officer.

Screams and roars were heard in the Plaza de San Martiro. In less than ten minutes, the grain-collecting team that came to confiscate the relief grain was beaten to death by the angry citizens.

Upon seeing this, the bureaucrats and police officers from the city hall ran away, not daring to stay in such a troubled place for even a second.

The tiles of the square were splattered with blood, the bodies of soldiers and civilians were scattered all over the place, and a flock of black crows were circling in the air, ready to enjoy their meal at any time.

The people whose hands were stained with blood finally calmed down at this time. They stared at each other in a daze without saying a word. There was no pleasure of revenge and joy of victory on their faces. Instead, they were filled with bitterness and confusion.

Yes, they protected what was rightfully theirs from these bandits, but what should they do next?

Those officials who escaped would certainly report the situation here to their higher authorities, and it wouldn't be long before the riot in Piazza San Martínez would attract a large army to suppress it.

At that time, what other options do these unarmed ordinary people have except to surrender and wait to be killed?

Should he flee like a flock of wolves and beasts? No, even if he could escape the army's pursuit by chance, wouldn't he still have to struggle to survive in this hell of the siege of Turin?

Everyone is thinking about this question, but everyone has the same answer:
If you don’t do one thing, you won’t stop doing the other thing.

The riots in Piazza San Martiro instantly set Turin on fire.

The civilians who were trying to survive in the dark corners could no longer endure this hellish life. Even though there was an enemy army outside the city eyeing them covetously, no one felt obligated to sacrifice their lives for those powerful people.

They didn't want to commit treason, they just wanted to live.

Countless people joined the riots, forming an unstoppable stream of people with only one destination - the Royal Palace of Turin.

In the early stages of the riots, due to the traffic impact caused by flooding in the city, the response of various military and police forces was extremely slow, and there was no time to extinguish the rebellion in its infancy.

And when the citizens gathered in large numbers, the military and police did not dare to rashly suppress the huge crowds. Before receiving orders from their superiors and the king, no one dared to escalate the situation further.

Soon, thousands of suffering people completely surrounded the palace. The streets were filled with floating boats on the water. The curses continued all day long, and everyone was shouting and demanding that His Majesty the King give them a way out.

Carlo Emanuele III, who was presiding over the court proceedings, was in a trance for a long time after hearing the news. He had indeed anticipated the unrest among the people, but he never expected that this riot would come so suddenly.

It was obviously impossible to use the army to suppress the riot. Half of Turin had already raised the banner of resistance. If a massacre were to begin at this time, not to mention whether the Corsicans outside the city would take advantage of the situation and rush in, the loss of prestige caused by such a bloody suppression alone was something Carlo Emmanuele III could not accept.

The old king definitely did not want to leave a kingdom of Sardinia with turbulent public sentiment to Prince Vittorio.

The aldermen, the home secretary, and the war secretary took turns trying to negotiate with the mob on behalf of His Majesty the King in exchange for their departure.

But the extremely angry citizens did not accept the ministers' persuasion at all. They demanded to see His Majesty the King in person and get the King's personal promise.

The people became even more angry and they even began to attack the defense line formed by the palace guards. Even the irritable Minister of War was hit on the head by a stone when he scolded the citizens.

The situation was getting increasingly out of control, but Carlo Emmanuele III still could not accept the idea of ​​negotiating in person with the representatives of public opinion.

Although the old king was indeed an outstanding negotiator and had brought huge benefits to the Kingdom of Sardinia in several diplomatic negotiations, His Majesty, who came from the ancient Savoy dynasty, would never negotiate with the mob.

It would undoubtedly be a great humiliation for a noble king to humble himself and negotiate personally with the representatives of these mobs. This is his bottom line.

Just as His Majesty the King was acting on his own will and the situation was becoming increasingly tense, the Corsican army, aware of the unrest in Turin, took action.

Instead of sending troops to attack, they sent a single envoy in a small boat to approach the walls of Turin, claiming to be representing Prime Minister Bonaparte to negotiate a treaty with His Majesty the King of Sardinia. After obtaining permission to enter Turin, the envoy did not enter the Royal Palace of Turin under the escort of soldiers. Instead, he claimed that his personal safety was threatened and demanded to inform and submit the peace terms to the Kingdom of Sardinia in public outside the palace, under the gaze of thousands of Turin people.

The treaty brought by the messenger can be summarized into four simple clauses:

First: The Kingdom of Sardinia officially announced the transfer of sovereignty over Sardinia and its affiliated islands to the Kingdom of Corsica, and permanently gave up all claims to Sardinia and its affiliated islands; the Kingdom of Sardinia could retain its legal status as a kingdom and be renamed the Kingdom of Savoy.

Second: The Nice region obtained by the Kingdom of Sardinia in the Treaty of Aachen in 1748 must be returned to the Kingdom of France.

Third: The Kingdom of Sardinia shall pay the Kingdom of Corsica an annual war reparations of 120 million livres or equivalent in gold and silver for ten years. The reparations shall be received by the Bank of St. George, and one third of the reparations shall be used to establish the Turin Investment Fund for the post-disaster reconstruction and recovery of the city of Turin.

Fourth: The Kingdom of Sardinia reached an unconditional peace with the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Spain, abandoned all diplomatic relations with the Sicilian rebel forces, and withdrew from the Italian War.

After reading the peace treaty brought by the Corsican army in public, the envoy also promised to the thousands of citizens present in the name of Prime Minister Bonaparte:
If Carlo Emmanuel III and his cabinet accepted the treaty, the Corsican army would not only not enter Turin, but would also immediately dismantle the Po River embankment and lift the water attack on the city of Turin.

Even in the face of food shortages within the city, Prime Minister Bonaparte expressed that out of humanism and sympathy for his Italian compatriots, he could immediately donate a batch of Corsican army supplies to the people of Turin, even if the King of Sardinia did not accept the treaty.

Listening to the messenger's words echoing in the square in front of the court, thousands of citizens fell silent and the scene was completely silent.

Everyone hated the Corsicans who brought this catastrophe, but from a realistic perspective, from their perspective, from the perspective of a group of ordinary people struggling to survive in the besieged city, the treaty offered by the Corsicans and the promise of Prime Minister Bonaparte were indeed very attractive.

The two most important clauses in the treaty were the cession of Sardinia and Nice, but what did that have to do with such a small nation as them?

Could it be that the gold and silver in Sardinia and the silk and pearls in Nice would fall into the pockets of these poor people who have nothing?

As for the impact that losing these two territories would have on the country, few ordinary citizens would consider it.

"Fuck the affairs of state, I just want a piece of bread and a dry bed."

This is the cry from the bottom of the hearts of millions of civilians struggling to survive in the flood.

Moreover, Prime Minister Lawrence Bonaparte also promised that the army would not enter the city of Turin, which made the citizens who were worried that the Corsicans would burn, kill and loot after entering the city breathe a sigh of relief. They were already struggling on the brink of life and death and absolutely did not want to face the sharp blades of the raw and bloodthirsty Corsicans again.

As for the part of the treaty that one-third of the war reparations would be used for investment in Turin, and Prime Minister Bonaparte's promise to donate Corsican military supplies to the people of Turin, the citizens present found it unbelievable.

Everyone understands that the success of a general is the result of the sacrifice of hundreds of soldiers.

It is unheard of that an enemy commander would offer to deliver supplies to a besieged city, let alone spend the huge war reparations on the enemy's citizens.

But for a siege commander who was sure of victory, Lawrence Bonaparte's behavior was no less than the mercy of the Virgin Mary. After all, he could just wait for the food in the city to run out, watch famine and plague rage in Turin, and eventually take the city easily.

And if the Corsican's kindness was rejected, although the messenger did not say it explicitly, his words hinted that Turin would face a massacre after the flood, famine and plague on the day of its fall.

Although they did not talk to each other, the vast majority of citizens had the same thought in their minds:
Let this flood recede, let this hell dissipate, let peace come, all this suffering is enough!

From the first day the flood entered the city, it was impossible to defend Turin!

The noble lords can enjoy singing and dancing in their mansions until they die, but people like us may not even be able to see the sunrise tomorrow!
Soon, people's demands on the Royal Palace of Turin changed.

They no longer demanded that Carlo Emanuele III increase per capita rations and clean up corruption in the army and city hall; no one would place any hope in the high-handed, stupid and incompetent officers and municipal bureaucrats.

Peace, peace once and for all, this is now the only demand of nearly 100,000 Turin people.

A moment later, the Foreign Minister presented to His Majesty the King the peace treaty brought by the Corsican envoy and the latest demands of the people outside the palace.

After hearing all this, Carlo Emanuele III was in a trance for a long time. It took him five minutes to come back to his senses. He only uttered one sentence:

"Lawrence Bonaparte is as treacherous as a venomous snake and as cunning as a ferret. His reputation is well-deserved."

"His Majesty."

The Foreign Secretary raised his head cautiously and said in a wise way:

"Since the Corsicans want to use their logistical supplies to win people's hearts, why don't we take advantage of their trick and accept the supplies they send to defend Turin, and then wait for His Highness Vittorio."

"You idiot!"

His Majesty the King was furious, and his disappointment was clearly evident in his words. At this point, the King was too lazy to be polite with this useless Foreign Minister:
"Do you think Lawrence Bonaparte's proposal to send us supplies was really motivated by humanism? Was it out of sympathy for his fellow Italians? He knew that I would never accept this proposal, so he deliberately told those citizens!"

The old king knew very well that the defenders in the city would never accept this ridiculous proposal of the Corsicans. If they accepted it, the Corsicans would surely take the opportunity to make a series of additional demands, such as requiring all supplies to be escorted into the city by the Corsicans themselves.

And who can guarantee that by then the Corsican ships carrying grain will not be filled with fully armed soldiers, ready to stage a Trojan Horse in the 18th century?

Carlo Emmanuele III could now conclude that Lawrence Bonaparte deliberately leaked the news to thousands of people because he was sure that he would not accept it.

After all, in this way, public opinion becomes:

"Prime Minister Lawrence Bonaparte showed compassion and took the initiative to send supplies to the suffering enemy people; His Majesty the King of Sardinia was so angry that he would rather let his people starve to death than accept charity from the Corsicans."

At that time, the people would not care whether the Corsican proposal would lead to the fall of Turin. They would only think that it was His Majesty the King in the deep palace who put his face above the lives of his people.

As for the part of the peace treaty that claimed that one-third of the war reparations would be used to establish the Turin Investment Fund, Carlo Emanuele III could see at a glance that this was not at all what the envoy had claimed, that it was to compensate ordinary people for their losses in the war.

The purpose of Lawrence Bonaparte's move was nothing more than to manipulate public opinion in Turin and thus monopolize and control the entire financial sector of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the future.

Although he had not yet seen the detailed treaty delivered by the Corsicans, Carlo Emanuele III could already guess that the Corsicans would inevitably add a large number of additional clauses to guarantee the investment fund's privileges in the kingdom's financial world and the Corsicans' complete control over the foundation.

Once this so-called investment fund is established, it will have abundant capital, powerful political privileges, and enthusiastic support from the general public. With these unique advantages, the Turin Investment Fund will become a leader in the kingdom's financial sector in a very short time.

And such a foundation that represents the middle class and monopolizes the entire country's financial industry is actually controlled by Corsicans.

Then the countless profits it earns will naturally flow to Ajaccio instead of staying in Turin.

However, those who can see this level are destined to be only a very small number of people like Carlo Emmanuele III who have received a good diplomatic education.

The general public is ignorant and stupid, and Carlo Emanuele III once again deeply experienced this truth.

At this point, if he expressed opposition to the establishment of the Turin Investment Fund, the first people to be angry would probably not be the Corsicans, but the 200,000 people in Turin. They would only blame His Majesty the King for preferring to give the gold and silver to the Corsicans rather than keep them to benefit his own people.

Carlo Emmanuele III also realized that the main purpose of the Corsican envoy's coming to Turin was not to submit the treaty. From the very beginning, he was ordered by Bonaparte to come to deceive the people and add fuel to the already urgent riots in Turin.

In the end, Lawrence Bonaparte, who stayed behind the scenes, could gain both fame and fortune, and reap the fruits of victory under the worship of the citizens of Turin.

"Brilliant, really brilliant."

After the rage, Carlo Emanuele III collapsed on the throne exhausted, muttering to himself:

"Landing in Vadolidore, raiding Genoa, dividing the troops to contain Vittorio, attacking Turin from Genoa, building dikes and attacking with water for two weeks, and finally deceiving and manipulating public opinion. Lawrence Bonaparte has a great set of tactics. Even if I were 20 years younger, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do it..."

Things had come to a point where the old king had neither the energy nor the inclination to rebuke Lawrence Bonaparte for his hypocritical words and deeds.

Both of them were supreme rulers of the same piece of land and above everyone else. Carlo Emmanuele III himself knew very well that hypocrisy was just a compulsory course for an ambitious man.

Carlo Emanuele III also understood that even though he had seen through Lawrence Bonaparte's plan, it was too late.

The Siege of Turin has become a dead end. Even if the most skilled chess player takes over the game, it will still be useless. What's more, he is already one of the best chess players in Europe.

Thinking of this, the old king turned his eyes to the peace treaty at hand.

"His Majesty!"

Seeing that His Majesty the King seemed to be seriously considering the treaty in his hand, the Foreign Minister was suddenly shocked. He would never accept the fact that the kingdom had been defeated.

Prince Vittorio still led an army of 10,000 and had an absolute advantage in military strength. How could he sign this humiliating treaty without fighting a single soldier?

"His Royal Highness's army has not yet engaged the main force of the Corsican army. We can pretend to surrender and delay time until..."

"No need."

Carlo Emmanuele III interrupted the foreign minister softly. The moment he accepted the defeat of the Kingdom of Sardinia, his body and mind relaxed and his voice became much calmer:
"This treaty needs to be signed by the French. If it is torn up rashly after signing, it will not only be Sardinia and Nice that will be lost."

Just like the last treaty signed with the Republic of Genoa, Lawrence also included the Kingdom of France as a co-signatory of the treaty. With Carlo Emmanuele III's diplomatic experience, he could naturally see Lawrence's intention.

Although Louis XV's war-weariness was well known to everyone, France was also eyeing the recovery of the Savoy region. Since France formed an alliance with Austria, the focus of France's expansion in Europe has been placed on Savoy and Nice in the south.

The Duke of Choiseul, who seemed to have fallen, was still trying his best to expand the war in Italy. If the Kingdom of Sardinia tore up the peace treaty at this time, it would undoubtedly give the Kingdom of France an advantage, and the French army would probably enter Savoy in three days.

Savoy and Piedmont are the foundation of the entire kingdom, and their importance is far beyond that of Sardinia. If Savoy is lost in order to preserve Sardinia, Carlo Emanuele III himself will not be able to face the ancestors of the Savoy dynasty in heaven.

"But.!"

The Foreign Minister wanted to say something else, but Carlo Emmanuele III was too impatient to listen.

He also had to admit that the treaty drafted by Lawrence Bonaparte was just right. While asking for a huge amount of money, he also kept the intensity just above his bottom line.

If the treaty required the cession of Savoy to France, Carlo Emmanuele III would rather risk being overthrown by 200,000 mobs and absolutely defend Turin to the death. Even if Turin fell, he would order Prince Vittorio to resist to the end.

But if it is Sardinia, this island was originally a trophy obtained by the kingdom from the War of the Spanish Succession, and its greatest role was just to pay some financial revenue to the kingdom and provide a kingdom title.

As for Nice, when the kingdom held Sardinia, this port city was the most important trade outlet. However, since Sardinia was about to be ceded to the Corsicans, the importance of this city was greatly reduced.

There were only the Foreign Minister and the King in the empty throne room. Carlo Emmanuele III just looked at the treaty in his hand quietly without saying a word, but in fact he knew that he had no bargaining power with the Corsicans at all.

Suddenly, an officer of the Royal Guard burst into the throne room and asked anxiously:

"The mob is already attacking the palace gate, and many of them are armed! Your Majesty, please give the order to open fire, otherwise the Turin Palace will..."

"Ugh"

The long sigh echoed in the throne room, even drowning out the officer's anxious shouts.

Time is running out.

Carlo Emanuele III stood up, staggering, and only managed to steady himself with the help of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the officer.

Although he knew that this was the wisest and most rational decision, and although he thought he was well prepared, Carlo Emmanuele III still couldn't help feeling dizzy at the thought of signing his name on that humiliating treaty.

The king's eyes were blurred and he could no longer see the hall in front of him. All he could see were the battles and clashes of the past forty years.

He once led an army of 20,000 to fight against a Franco-Spanish coalition force of nearly 60,000, and defended the country under the siege of the two major powers. He also defeated the French army in the Battle of Arcita and was hailed as a rare war genius in the world.

France, Spain and Austria, the three great powers surrounded the land of the Kingdom of Sardinia; the War of the Polish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War, the turmoil of three major wars swept the land of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

He sought opportunities in these cracks, preserving his kingdom while expanding his territory in northern Italy.

In Vienna, he wowed the house with his eloquence, in Aachen with his diplomacy, and the Peace of Vienna in 1738 and the Treaty of Aachen in 1748 brought great territorial gains to the kingdom.

Langhe, Torto, Novara and Nice, he personally incorporated these lands into the kingdom's territory.

Frederick the Great of Prussia praised him highly, while Louis XV of France was somewhat wary of his uncle.

The great achievements of the past forty years kept passing before the old king's eyes, but they could not arouse the slightest joy or pride. Instead, he felt that the reality before him was becoming increasingly cold and cruel:

The Kingdom of Sardinia was defeated by the Corsicans.

Carlo Emmanuele III was defeated by Lawrence Bonaparte.

The foundation laid by the emperor over the past forty years was given to the Kingdom of Corsica in one day.

If I were twenty years younger, if my control over the kingdom was still the same as it was twenty years ago, would everything be different?

The old king shook his head and threw all illusions out of his mind:
"Bring me the pen, ink, and seal."

A moment later, he took the quill handed to him by the servant and tremblingly signed his name in cursive on the peace treaty. His strokes were slow but without hesitation.

Then, under the stunned gaze of the Foreign Minister, the old king opened the golden seal and, with all his strength, stamped the white cross of the House of Savoy below his signature.

Since Carlo Emmanuel III ascended the throne, this emblem has appeared countless times on victorious treaties, and he never imagined that one day he would stamp this elegant and exquisite emblem on an unequal treaty that would be humiliating and detrimental to the country.

He handed the signed peace treaty to the foreign minister, and the quill pen in his hand accidentally fell to the ground:
"Write a reply to the Corsican envoy. The Kingdom of Sardinia has accepted their terms. This news should also be announced to all citizens of the city. The peace they want has come."