After passing the law that exiled Paoli, Count Buttafuoco pressed forward, urging Girolamo to introduce another proposal in the Corsican Assembly: a bill to revoke the parliantary seats of Paoli's faction.
Bartoloo fully supported the motion—eliminating Paoli's faction from the assembly would an those vacated seats would likely fall to his own faction.
On the other hand, Paoli's faction wasn't about to sit idle. They quickly ford an alliance with the neutral faction to resist the motion. For the neutrals, this was also a matter of survival—if Paoli's faction fell, they feared they might be next.
However, even with their combined forces, they didn't have the one-third vote needed to block the bill.
Unless, of course, they could find allies elsewhere.
It was at this mont that Count Buttafuoco appeared.
"I can assure you," he said with a smile, facing a few key figures from the Paoli and neutral factions in the Ajaccio tennis court's lounge, "that my people will not vote for the bill to revoke your parliantary seats."
The attendees expressed their gratitude, but Buttafuoco continued:
"As you know, I was recently appointed governor, but there are many others vying for this position.
"If we can collaborate to pass a law disbanding the National Guard—a force that has been a thorn in the governnt's side—it would greatly solidify my position."
The National Guard, as the ard wing of the independence movent, had been declared illegal by the French governnt. However, the Corsican Assembly continued to recognize it, which ensured its support among the Corsican people.
Giuseppe and Ellio exchanged glances before shaking their heads firmly.
"This is absolutely unacceptable!"
"You're exploiting our vulnerability. Even if we must fight Bartoloo, we cannot sacrifice the National Guard."
Buttafuoco chuckled.
"When you lose your parliantary seats, the National Guard will belong to Bartoloo anyway. What good will protecting it do then?"
Paoli's faction and the neutrals fell silent.
How many of these so-called independence advocates genuinely wanted to establish a Corsican republic? Corsica had no historical precedent for statehood. In an era when nationalism had yet to fully erge, most independence movents were driven by personal ambition—to beco the "founding fathers" and hold lifelong power.
But now they were on the verge of losing everything. Once Bartoloo controlled the National Guard, their chances of reclaiming influence would vanish.
After a long pause, Giuseppe took a deep breath and nodded.
"Fine, I accept your terms."
The neutral faction leader, Ellio, hesitated before adding:
"But Count, even with our support, the three factions combined still won't reach the two-thirds majority needed in the assembly."
Bartoloo's faction controlled 35% of the seats, while passing a law required 66%.
Buttafuoco nodded calmly.
"You needn't worry. As long as your people vote in favor of disbanding the National Guard, you will have fulfilled your part of the agreent."
Of course, Buttafuoco had other plans. With Chalrs, his powerful financial backer, providing additional funds, it wouldn't be difficult to sway a few of Bartoloo's assembly mbers.
Additionally, Girolamo, the assembly speaker, had influence within Bartoloo's faction and could secure votes if necessary.
Tuileries Palace, Second Floor
Joseph reviewed the report recently sent by the Corsican governor and smiled.
According to the report, while the assembly hadn't yet voted, the political landscape strongly indicated that the bill to disband the National Guard would pass.
The next step would be deploying troops to dismantle the illegal militia.
Without the protective cloak of legal recognition, the National Guard—essentially a disorganized band of irregulars—would struggle to gain public support. The fact that the Corsican Assembly itself had decided on this would make it far easier to neutralize them.
Once their ard forces were eliminated, the deeply divided independence movent would no longer pose a significant threat.
From there, Joseph could choose between gradually assimilating them into French politics through successive rounds of legislation or simply outlawing them outright. Either way, the Corsican independence issue would be resolved permanently.
Joseph folded the report and began considering who to send to lead the operation.
A grin crossed his face. Historically, wasn't this Napoleon's task? It seed only fitting to assign him the role again—it was familiar territory, and he was unlikely to make any mistakes.
Furthermore, once Napoleon personally dismantled the National Guard and saw firsthand Paoli's scandals and the fractious state of the independence movent, he would likely beco disillusioned with the idea of Corsican independence.
Joseph drafted an order to the General Staff, appointing Major Napoleon Buonaparte to lead a battalion and the Corsican garrison in eliminating the National Guard. Upon completing the mission, Napoleon would be promoted to lieutenant colonel and made acting commander of the Corsican garrison.
Joseph knew Napoleon was ambitious. Disillusioned with the independence movent and offered a prestigious position within the French military, Napoleon would likely embrace the role of a loyal Frenchman.
Once Corsica was fully integrated under French control, Napoleon would have no opportunity to reignite an independence movent. At that point, he could be brought fully into Joseph's fold.
After signing the order and handing it to a courier, Joseph turned to another docunt on his desk.
This report, from the Revenue Departnt, indicated that the tax bureaus across the country were fully prepared to assu tax collection duties from the tax farrs. The transition was nearly complete.
Joseph rubbed his temples. With less than a month left in the year, the governnt had only managed to raise 80 million francs—far short of what was needed.
Although he had ordered the banking sector to implent "paynt and exchange reforms" to prevent large sums of money from flowing abroad, only one major tax farr, Charles, had defected to the governnt's side.
The other financial elites were proving remarkably patient. If there was no progress by next week, Joseph would have to resort to issuing high-interest loans.
At that mont, Émond's voice ca from outside the door.
"Your Highness, Monsieur Fouché is here."
"Oh? Let him in."
The director of the intelligence bureau entered quickly and bowed.
"Your Highness, 'The Lender' urgently requests an audience with you."
Joseph's eyes lit up. "The Lender" was the codena for an informant Joseph had planted within the tax farrs' association. After months of inactivity, the informant suddenly wanted to et. Could this an a breakthrough?
"Where is he?" Joseph asked.
"At Mada Bertrand's residence."
Half an hour later, Joseph arrived at the house and t "The Lender," British banker Godemid.
Godemid bowed deeply.
"It's an honor to et you, Your Highness. I requested this eting because I bring good news."
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