From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Although he was not familiar with Ajaccio, Lawrence still found the patrol station by asking for directions.

Like other official agencies of the Republic of Corsica, the patrol station is also very simple. It directly uses a small bunker built by the Genoese in the city as the station.

This bunker has been covered with moss due to its age and disrepair. Many of the stone bricks on it have fallen off, and there are many hollows on the walls.

If it weren't for the flag of the Republic of Corsica hanging on the bunker, Lawrence would have thought it was a historical site.

It was mid-afternoon, and the door to the station was open, so Lawrence walked straight in.

After understanding it in advance, Lawrence also understood that this patrol team actually performed the duties of the police and was not large in size, with only about fifty people.

After all, the total population of Ajaccio is less than 20,000, which is not even as large as the population of a town in Lawrence's previous life.

The watchtower at the garrison has four floors in total. The second and third floors are the guards' dormitories, and the top floor is a small arsenal and storage room.

There is also a basement that is used as a dungeon to hold captured suspects awaiting trial in court. Although Lawrence had heard rumors that the patrol housed five times more prisoners than the Corsican penitentiary.

The first floor is a lobby open to the public, used to receive visitors and citizens who report crimes.

However, in the eyes of the Corsican people who advocate vendetta, reporting the crime seems to be the only last resort. Therefore, when Lawrence entered, there were only a few guards on duty in the hall.

"Huh? What are you here for?" A guard stood up from his chair displeasedly after noticing someone entering the door, but after seeing Lawrence's dress, he restrained himself a little and asked.

A person like Lawrence, who has fair skin and wears a shirt and scarf, is not like those easily bullied slum dwellers.

Lawrence did not reply, but looked at the few guards present. They were sitting around a wooden table, with two large bottles of rum and several rickety wooden glasses on the table.

Looking at the faces of these people, their eyes were all blank, their faces were red, and they had no idea how much strong rum they had poured into their stomachs.

When the guard who just asked the question saw that Lawrence didn't reply and was even looking at their wine glasses, he couldn't help but get angry and pointed at Lawrence's nose and shouted:

"Hey! I'm asking you a fucking question. If you come in without any serious reason, I'll throw you into the dungeon!"

Lawrence glanced around coldly, and finally understood why Paulie threw him into this patrol.

If you are an ordinary person, you will probably be assimilated by this group of bodyguards who bully the masses. Then you will be despised by thousands of people, and you will lose the mass base politically.

The guard continued to insult, and the offensive words kept coming out one after another. The other guards looked at Lawrence with a smile on their faces, thinking that he was just having fun after drinking.

Lawrence didn't want to talk nonsense with these people at all, so he took out the short knife from his waist and pointed the tip of the knife directly at the nose of the rude guard.

"What?!"

The guards immediately sobered up from their drunkenness. Unexpectedly, someone dared to cause trouble in the station. They hurriedly stood up from the table, drew out the swords from their waists, and stepped forward to subdue Lawrence.

Lawrence's expression did not change. He held the knife in his right hand and continued to point at the guards. He reached into his arms with his left hand and took out the appointment certificate, held it in front of his chest, and shouted:

"I am Laurence Bonaparte! Noble of Florence, brother of Senator Carlo Bonaparte, counselor to Governor Paoli, deputy captain of the Ajaccio patrol, your commander! How dare you point your sword at me? ?”

The loud voice echoed in the empty hall, causing waves of echoes.

The soldiers were even more shocked after hearing this. Although they could not verify the previous titles, the identity of the deputy captain was written in black and white on the appointment certificate.

The appointment letter has Governor Pauli's signature and personal seal, so it doesn't look like a forgery.

Several guards looked at each other and hesitantly put down their swords. The man who was pointed at by Lawrence broke into a cold sweat, staggered back a few steps, and stood with his companions.

Lawrence snorted coldly and put the short knife into his waist.

But the tense atmosphere between the two sides continued.

At this moment, a short old man with white temples suddenly stood out among the guards. If Lawrence had not been standing with other guards, he would never associate him with the image of a soldier.

The little old man took two steps forward and laughed a few times. A flattering smile filled his entire face, as if he was not the one who had just drawn a sword and pointed it at Lawrence.

"Ahem, sir, please forgive us for being rude, we are really blind." The little old man said, made a funny bow to Lawrence, and continued:

"Everyone calls me Old Sean. I've been with the patrol since day one and am willing to serve you."

Lawrence squinted his eyes and glanced at Sean. This guard, who was a head shorter than himself, looked to be in his fifties or sixties. He was definitely the oldest person in the patrol team.

In addition, Sean Lao was able to resolve the feud with Lawrence in a very short period of time, and came over to offer his kindness as if nothing had happened. He seemed to be a well-rounded person.

Although Lawrence has always despised such people, if he wanted to gain a foothold in the patrol as quickly as possible, Lawrence still couldn't do without the help of Old Sean.

Thinking of this, Lawrence's tone softened a lot and said to everyone:

"I won't hold you accountable for your malfeasance this time, and I won't do it next time. Your name is Old Sean, right? Take me to get my things."

"Yes, yes, yes." Old Sean agreed first, then turned around and winked at everyone, and then the other guards replied loosely.

This scene was also seen by Lawrence, and he thought to himself: It seems that this little old man still has some prestige, so we might as well start with him and gain a foothold here as soon as possible.

Then, Old Sean led Lawrence upstairs to the storage room on the fourth floor to collect his uniform, sword and seal.

During the chat upstairs, Lawrence also learned some information from Old Sean.

In addition to Lawrence, the patrol commander also has a deputy captain and captain. It's just that these two people live in Dongcheng District and have their own industries. They don't come to the station to work on weekdays.

Lawrence snorted coldly after learning about it. It stands to reason that a deputy captain with a monthly salary of only fifty gold coins could live in Dongcheng District, let alone have his own property.

It seems that they have a good way of making money.

But this also means that Lawrence is usually the top officer here, which makes it more convenient for him to show off his talents in the team.

Old Sean took Lawrence to the fourth floor. It seemed that no one had been here for too long, and the cobwebs on the ceiling almost fell to the floor. Every time Lawrence stepped on the ground, he would leave a gray mark on the ground.

The only dozen muskets owned by the patrol were stored here, but they had been covered with a thick layer of dust and had not been used for a long time.

Old Sean scratched his head in embarrassment and explained that they usually patrolled and investigated and had no need to deal with some local gangsters. But if they faced enemies with muskets, the Corsican military would probably take action directly. It's not their turn either. These flintlock muskets were left idle.

Lawrence shook his head helplessly, and he did not intend to pursue this today.

Then Sean Lao went into the storage room and rummaged for a while before finding what Lawrence wanted:

A blue and white uniform, the style is very similar to the uniform of the French line privates, and it is probably copied. There is also a silver star-shaped badge on the chest of the uniform, highlighting the status of the deputy captain.

The other is his seal, which is also an important item to prove his identity. As for the sword, Lawrence waved his hand and said he didn't want it anymore. He was still more accustomed to the short knife Grosso gave him on his waist.

However, when Old Sean came out, he also carried an exquisitely crafted flintlock pistol, as well as embroidered gunpowder bags and bullet bags.

"This was left by the previous captain. It's not good to gather dust here. Why not let Captain Bonaparte take it too." Old Sean smiled and stuffed the pistol and two pockets into Lawrence's hands.

Lawrence didn't refuse and glanced sideways at Old Sean.

He could tell at a glance that this was Old Sean trying to show his favor, but thinking of using this person later, he hung the pistol and two bags on his waist.

Just when Old Sean thought that Lawrence, like the other two officers, had come to go through the process and then go back to his "career", he didn't expect that Lawrence would put his uniform directly on his body, and then ordered:

"By the way, old Sean, take me to the dungeon."

"Dungeon? What are you doing there?" Old Sean looked confused.

"Prepare to kill." Lawrence calmly spat out two frightening words.