While Lawrence was staying in the Tuileries Palace, he was drinking and chatting with Louis XV. Located on the Île Saint-Louis in the center of the Seine, the command post of the Paris City Defense Forces.
However, this masonry building adjacent to the Seine is more like a splendid small palace than an army command post. The building's courtyard even has a marble fountain and sculpture garden.
After all, the aristocratic generals and officers of the city defense force cannot accept to stay in the muddy suburban garrison with ordinary soldiers for a long time. They still have to stay in the city to attend parties and salons with music, singing and dancing.
This is partly because the Paris City Defense Force is considered the most leisurely organization in the entire military system.
The police and soldiers will handle all the trivial matters in Paris, but as for serious situations that even the police force cannot handle, that kind of thing may only happen once in twenty years.
This is the heart of the entire Kingdom of France. Peace and stability are the norm in Paris.
For the senior officers of the city defense force, staying in this luxurious command post, drinking tea and reading newspapers is a true reflection of most of their working time. Many officers will not even go to the suburbs in person for a whole year. Military garrison.
Even the supreme commander of the city defense forces, Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe, was no exception. ...
"Laurence, this boy has done a really good job in this matter." Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe was half-lying on the sofa leisurely, holding several morning newspapers issued this morning and reading them with gusto.
Although Lieutenant General Philip was one of the first people to know that Lawrence was going to hold a charity auction, he did not expect that Lawrence would invite His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to the scene, and also transfer a large part of this reputation to Crown Prince Louis. .
However, after carefully savoring Lawrence's approach, Lieutenant General Philip couldn't help but sigh that this young man's cautious and meticulous acting style was really inconsistent with his age.
At this time, there were two knocks at the door of the command room, neither light nor heavy. I saw a lieutenant colonel adjutant knocking politely twice on the ajar door, and then walking into Lieutenant General Philip's office with a stack of documents: "General, there are some documents that require your approval." Lieutenant General Philip Then he sat up and glanced at the two-foot-thick pile of documents with a headache.
Although the Paris city defense force is already free enough, Lieutenant General Philip, as the supreme commander, still has to deal with this pile of tedious paperwork and administrative work.
The lieutenant colonel's adjutant seemed to be very familiar with Lieutenant General Philip. He put down the documents in his hand, then glanced at the newspaper in Lieutenant General Philip's hand, and joked with a smile: "Ah, you are watching that charity event." News about the auction? That’s really amazing. I dare say most of Paris knows about it. I also saw your name in many newspapers. Reporters said that many collections were sold at that auction. It was donated by you, and I also praise you."
"I don't care much about these false names." Lieutenant General Phillip stretched hard and stretched his muscles. Then he sat down at the desk, glanced helplessly at the pile of official documents, sighed and asked: "Okay Well, which ones are signed directly and which ones need my approval and review?"
"These are the budget sheets for procurement by the Munitions and Logistics Department. You need to review them personally. This one is the expansion plan for the camp. If you think there is no problem, you can sign it directly. The other ones are..." Lieutenant Colonel Adjutant Skillfully explained to Lieutenant General Phillip: "Finally, this is a joint exercise plan sent by the Royal Guard, which requires your confirmation and signature."
"A joint exercise of the Royal Guards? Which army is it with this time?" Lieutenant General Philip glanced at the exercise plan with interest and asked casually.
"Swiss Guard." The lieutenant colonel's adjutant pushed up the glasses on the tip of his nose and said skillfully: "When His Majesty the King comes to Paris this time, the Swiss Guard will act as an accompanying escort. It is also routine to conduct a joint exercise with us." Philippe The lieutenant general flipped through the exercise plan without putting on any airs, and joked very casually: "Tsk, the Swiss, as long as the money is in place, they are more loyal than Scottish shepherds."
"I suggest you confirm this exercise plan first. The Royal Guards need this document today." The lieutenant colonel's adjutant reminded thoughtfully.
After that, the Lieutenant Colonel Adjutant left Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe's command room without further interruption.
"Do you need this document today..." As the Lieutenant Colonel's Adjutant gradually disappeared, Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe's expression gradually became serious. He looked at the document in his hand and murmured to himself: "Since Lawrence Poe Nabal has already started taking action, so I can't hold him back, so let's start with this document."... At four o'clock in the afternoon, the city defense force command post, in the public rest area.
A group of officers gathered in the hall, smoking pipes, drinking wine, chatting and laughing, waiting for the end of working hours.
There was a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere in the hall, and even a major could sit with the general and laugh together at some upper-class gossip.
After all, in the Qingshui Yamen of the City Defense Force, the differences in military rank and rank are not that important. Anyway, the officers of the City Defense Force either come here specifically to develop their resumes, or they return to Paris to work for retirement.
And while everyone was enjoying this leisurely afternoon, Lieutenant Colonel Philip's adjutant suddenly ran into the public rest area with an anxious look.
The lieutenant colonel searched around among the people, and then asked anxiously: "Everyone, has anyone seen General Philip?" All the officers looked at each other blankly, and shook their heads one after another. How could they always have the highest command? Where is the official’s whereabouts?
A major general in the crowd stood up and frowned at the lieutenant colonel's adjutant. His name was Mani. He was the chief of staff of the Paris City Defense Force and the deputy commander of the entire force: "What? Do you need to see General Philippe for something urgent?"
"Yes, that's right, very anxious." The lieutenant colonel's adjutant had no choice but to look at Major General Mani for help: "We have a joint exercise with the Royal Guard. The Royal Guard now wants us to provide a confirmed exercise plan, but I just went to look at Lieutenant General Philip's desk and found that he has not signed the exercise plan... Really, I clearly reminded the general, and now even his people can't be found." Major General Mani said. Listen, he smiled and waved his hand: "I thought it was some serious accident, just a small matter. I just signed for General Philip to confirm it; this kind of drill is not a big deal, it only happens once every few months."
"This... is not good." The lieutenant colonel's adjutant seemed a little hesitant: "That plan is supposed to require the approval of the supreme commander."
"Hey, Lieutenant General Philip is an easy-going person, you don't know it." Major General Mani patted the lieutenant colonel's adjutant on the shoulder generously twice, and said confidently: "He must understand, and He is indeed not in the command post at this time, and with Lieutenant General Philip's open-mindedness, he will not care about anything." Listening to Major General Mani's words, even the officers subconsciously nodded in agreement.
In their impression, Lieutenant General Philippe was indeed an informal, forthright and easy-going general. Although he came from a prestigious family like Choiseul, he was always gentle and patient with his subordinates, and he was deeply fond of him for this. The support of all the officers.
"Uh... Well, I think so." The lieutenant colonel's adjutant carefully considered Lieutenant General Philip's character and seemed to feel that the easy-going general would not say much about this matter, so he agreed. Major General Mani’s solution.
...This incident did not break the atmosphere of enjoyment and comfort among the officers. As Major General Mani handed over the signed exercise plan to the officers of the Royal Guard, everyone just pretended that nothing happened. The tea party continued with their drinking and smoking.
After half an hour of wasting time, the officers' work for the day came to an end. They either return home to spend time with their wives and children, or they change into dresses and wigs without stopping and go to banquets and salons.
Just as everyone was packing up their belongings and waving goodbye to each other, a dull sound of footsteps suddenly sounded at the entrance to the public rest area.
And as the footsteps approached, it was Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe, who had a stern face and was completely unsmiling.
He stood at the door of the hall with an indifferent expression, and his dagger-like eyes swept over the officers inside without mercy.
"Hey, General Philip, where were you this afternoon?"
"Did you go betting on horse racing again? Hahaha, you said you lost a lot of money last time."
"You couldn't have gone to the bathhouse, right? That's not a place for a family man like you to go. Hahaha." Several officers who were not good at observing words and expressions didn't seem to realize what Lieutenant General Philip's expression meant. Still joking with Lieutenant General Philip without any scruples as usual.
Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe did not pay attention to these jokes. He stood up straight and shouted in a voice that was almost a roar: "Major General Mani Alexandre-Guillaume de Clermont, get out of the queue!" The roaring sound made the floor-to-ceiling windows in the hall tremble slightly, and people couldn't help but worry that the entire glass would shatter in response to General Philip's shout.
Major General Mani, who was named by Lieutenant General Philip, trembled all over, threw away the wine glass in his hand, jumped up from the sofa like a frightened hare, and stood in front of Lieutenant General Philip in horror. .
Even the other officers stared wide-eyed and quickly stood up from the sofa and stood upright.
In their impression, Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe had rarely been so angry. They had no idea what had made the Lieutenant General so angry. Even the Lieutenant General's lieutenant colonel was panicking at this time. Have no idea what happened.
As for Major General Mani, he did not dare to take a breath at this moment, and even the shirt on his body was instantly soaked with cold sweat.
Even though Jacques Philippe was only one level higher than him in military rank, Major General Magny did not dare to compare his status with that of the Duke of Choiseul's biological brother.
Seeing that everyone was standing at attention, Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe slowly walked up to Major General Mani and scolded sternly: "Major General Mani, recite Catch-22 to me!"
"Article 20...2? I..." Major General Mani was stunned again, but Lieutenant General Philip obviously didn't mean to joke with him. The major general had no choice but to bite the bullet and recall those things that only private soldiers remember. He stumbled over the military regulations and said: "All soldiers should... fulfill their duties and resolutely implement the orders issued by their superiors... and must not overstep; if a soldier has overstepped the truth, it can be dealt with directly by his superiors during wartime, and should be brought up by his superiors during peacetime. proceedings and handed over to a military court.”
"You should feel lucky, Major General Mani." Lieutenant General Philip's words were as lonely and desperate as the storm: "If this was a war period, your body would have been buried in the soil by my own hands."
"General Philip! I didn't..." Major General Mani tried his best to suppress only such a pale explanation.
"No? That joint exercise plan was not signed and confirmed by you?" Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe's index finger was like a sharp knife, and he stabbed Major General Mani three times in the chest: "Tell me, who gave it to you? Are you so brave that you dare to exercise my authority on my behalf?" Major General Mani's hands were close to the seam of his trousers, and he did not even dare to wipe the hot sweat from his forehead. He only dared to lower his head and defend himself: "General! You were not at the command post at that time. Here, the Royal Guards are urging me very urgently..."
"So this is the reason why you dare to overstep me?!" Lieutenant General Philip snorted coldly, and there was no trace of the former easy-going and boldness on his stern face: "Mani Alexander-Guillaume de... Clermont, do you think I am leaving Paris for Lorraine soon? Do you think it is your turn to take the position of supreme commander?!" This series of questions made Major General Magny's face No longer retaining a trace of blood, his voice began to tremble, even with a hint of crying: "I, I don't dare, General, you know me, how could I..."
"Humph, you don't dare?" Lieutenant General Philip exhaled heavily, looked sideways at Major General Mani and shouted angrily: "If you dare to sign an order on my behalf today, will you dare to spare me and mobilize the troops tomorrow?" Major General Mani said His face turned pale. Of course he knew that mobilizing troops without authorization was equivalent to the crime of treason, especially among the Paris city defense troops under the king's feet.
All the officers looked at Major General Mani with sympathy and confusion. They didn't know what happened to Lieutenant General Philip today and why his temperament changed so drastically.
But at the moment, no one dared to risk the anger of Lieutenant General Philip to come forward to dissuade him. After all, logically speaking, this matter was indeed the fault of Major General Mani.
"You, and you!" Lieutenant General Philip took his eyes away from Major General Mani, and instead glanced at the officers in the entire hall. He reprimanded in a cold voice: "I tell you, as long as I wear this military uniform for a day, , I will be your highest officer for one day. If something like this happens to me again, huh, you don’t have to bother the civilian officials of the military court, I will personally carry out your trial." After that, , Lieutenant General Philip once again stabbed Major General Mani in the heart with his index finger, and immediately left the hall without looking back.
It wasn't until they confirmed that Lieutenant General Philip's footsteps had disappeared from the command post that all the officers dared to lift themselves from attention and gasp for air.
Almost none of these idle officers could resist the strong pressure exerted by Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe.
Major General Mani was paralyzed on the ground as if he had survived a disaster, his eyes were lifeless like a corpse without a soul, and his pupils did not regain focus for a long time.
"God...it scared me to death. I even thought for a moment that Lieutenant General Philip was going to execute us all."
"What the hell is going on? Lieutenant General Philip is usually such a fun and easy-going person. Why did he..."
"The general himself said it. He is probably going to leave the city defense force and go to Lorraine to serve as governor. He thinks that our subordinates will dare to ride on him."
"Oh, this really misunderstood us. Although what Major General Mani did was wrong, he certainly didn't mean to overstep the general."
"It's useless to say this now. At least we should stay calm in the last few weeks of Lieutenant General Philip's tenure. If anyone really offends him again... he can go home in advance to find the priest and priest who will conduct the funeral. It's a cemetery."... After leaving the command post, Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe's face slowly returned to calm, and it was completely impossible to tell that he had just angrily rebuked a group of officers in the hall.
He walked slowly along the sparkling Seine River at a strolling pace, sighed slightly and said to himself: "In this way, as long as I don't give orders, the city defense troops will remain stationary no matter what the situation."
