Chapter 515: Let Napoleon Handle What He Was Meant to Do
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 parliamentary seats of Paoli's faction.
Bartolomeo fully supported the motion—eliminating Paoli's faction from the assembly would mean 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 formed 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 moment 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 parliamentary 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 government's side—it would greatly solidify my position."
The National Guard, as the armed wing of the independence movement, had been declared illegal by the French government. 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 Bartolomeo, we cannot sacrifice the National Guard."
Buttafuoco chuckled.
"When you lose your parliamentary seats, the National Guard will belong to Bartolomeo 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 emerge, most independence movements were driven by personal ambition—to become the "founding fathers" and hold lifelong power.
But now they were on the verge of losing everything. Once Bartolomeo 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."
Bartolomeo'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 agreement."
Of course, Buttafuoco had other plans. With Chalmers, his powerful financial backer, providing additional funds, it wouldn't be difficult to sway a few of Bartolomeo's assembly members.
Additionally, Girolamo, the assembly speaker, had influence within Bartolomeo'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 armed forces were eliminated, the deeply divided independence movement 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 seemed 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 movement, he would likely become 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 movement 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 movement. 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 document on his desk.
This report, from the Revenue Department, indicated that the tax bureaus across the country were fully prepared to assume tax collection duties from the tax farmers. The transition was nearly complete.
Joseph rubbed his temples. With less than a month left in the year, the government had only managed to raise 80 million francs—far short of what was needed.
Although he had ordered the banking sector to implement "payment and exchange reforms" to prevent large sums of money from flowing abroad, only one major tax farmer, Charles, had defected to the government'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 moment, Émond's voice came 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 codename for an informant Joseph had planted within the tax farmers' association. After months of inactivity, the informant suddenly wanted to meet. Could this mean a breakthrough?
"Where is he?" Joseph asked.
"At Madame Bertrand's residence."
Half an hour later, Joseph arrived at the house and met "The Lender," British banker Godemid.
Godemid bowed deeply.
"It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I requested this meeting because I bring good news."
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