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Chapter 514: The Future of Corsica

The sky gradually darkened.

Filippo was still sitting on the hillside opposite Nonza village, torn newspapers at his feet. He stared blankly at the distant village, his heart caught in a painful struggle.

He knew the Restoration movement faced immense difficulties. Only by letting that village burn could all problems be resolved, and only then could the Restoration faction continue to contend with the French.

Yet, that would also mean allowing a man guilty of rape and embezzlement to remain the leader of the Restoration Organization. Filippo had previously believed the accusations of Paoli embezzling organizational funds were false, but after the rape case in London, he now accepted they were likely true.

But if he didn't set the fire, the Restoration Organization he had fought for since childhood would fall into disarray, then lose control of the assembly, ultimately leading to failure.

At present, the only person capable of unifying the Restoration Organization was Paoli.

Yet, he was a filthy, shameless beast, a criminal!

Should he allow the ideal of restoration, which he had clung to for decades, to crumble into nothing?

He didn't know how much more time passed. A bitter smile appeared on Filippo's face as he shook his head repeatedly, utterly unable to make a decision.

'Since I can't decide, I'll leave it to God,' he thought.

With that thought, he leaped down the nearly vertical hillside. His body tumbled rapidly, bouncing off rocks several times, leaving a trail of crimson blood.

The next day at noon, villagers discovered a man's corpse at the foot of the mountain and rushed back to the village to inform the parish priest.

Agosta and the captain of the guard hadn't seen Filippo all night, nor had they seen Nonza village ablaze. They came to search for him nearby and happened upon the villagers heading to check on the deceased.

Although only half a month had passed, Paoli's rape case in London had lost its intensity, and he himself had posted bail and returned home. It was unlikely that an influential political figure like him would be brought down by such a "minor case." However, the matter continued to escalate in Corsica, dominating everyone's conversations; it was Known to All.

Of course, this was the result of vigorous propaganda by the anti-Paoli faction, with the pro-France faction secretly cooperating. The front page of newspapers almost daily featured the Paoli case.

Batorio even had thousands of copies of the London Gazette, which reported on the case, bought and brought back, distributing them for free viewing in various towns.

Under such a media onslaught, the Paoli faction's election prospects plummeted. In the assembly elections following the incident, they secured only a single seat.

The anti-Paoli faction, on the other hand, became the biggest winner. Especially those who had previously criticized them for slandering Paoli now turned to cast their votes for them.

Others, disgusted by the misdeeds of Paoli, the leader of the Restoration faction, also developed an aversion to the entire faction, leading to the pro-France faction unexpectedly gaining some votes.

A month later, the provincial assembly elections in Corsica concluded.

The anti-Paoli faction, led by Batorio, won 35% of the seats. Meanwhile, Girolamo, their inside man, with Chalmers' support, began vying for the position of speaker, currently holding a clear advantage.

Count Buttafuoco led the pro-France faction to win 33% of the seats, achieving their best result since France's rule over Corsica.

Although the Paoli faction suffered a crushing defeat in the later stages, they still held 18% of the assembly seats due to their significant advantage at the start of the election.

The neutral faction fared the worst, only securing 14% of the seats because they were labeled as sympathetic to Paoli. In political struggles, ambiguous stances are never popular.

In a vineyard on the outskirts of Ajaccio, Girolamo spotted a portly nobleman appearing at the gate in the distance. He murmured to Batorio beside him, "He's here."

The latter adjusted his collar and stepped forward to greet him, stiffly saying, "What do you want? Say it quickly and then leave," without giving the other man a chance to salute.

"You're quite aloof, aren't you?"

The newcomer was indeed Count Buttafuoco. He still insisted on tipping his hat before continuing, "But you really ought to change your attitude. After all, we'll be seeing a lot of each other once we cooperate. Wouldn't a more harmonious atmosphere be better?"

"Cooperation?" Batorio sneered. "What do I have to cooperate with you for?"

Count Buttafuoco wasn't offended. He smiled slightly. "Haven't you noticed?

"Your faction and mine, combined, now hold more than two-thirds of the assembly seats.

"You know what that means."

Batorio frowned. He knew that two-thirds of the seats meant they could legislate, but he still asked with a cold expression, "So what?"

"We can join forces to push through legislation that will completely bury Paoli and his followers."

Batorio was momentarily stunned.

Although the anti-Paoli faction had gained an advantage in the assembly elections, Paoli still wielded considerable influence within the Restoration Organization.

If they could eliminate the Paoli faction through legislation, then his anti-Paoli group would undoubtedly become the backbone of the Restoration Organization.

He might even rise to become the new leader of the Restoration Organization.

His thoughts raced. If he could achieve this goal, then using the pro-France faction might not be out of the question.

Batorio's expression softened slightly. He gestured towards the house. "Please, come in and tell me more."

Several hours later, Count Buttafuoco completed his task and took his leave.

Inside the vineyard house, Batorio looked at Girolamo. "What do you think about cooperating with them?"

"It's a good opportunity," the latter stated with certainty. "It's just about pushing through one legislative bill. After that, we don't have to deal with the pro-France faction anymore."

Batorio nodded in profound agreement.

However, focused solely on immediate gains, he overlooked the fact that assembly legislative votes were conducted publicly.

As long as he allied with the pro-France faction this time to suppress the Paoli faction, then in the eyes of the Corsican people, he would forever be seen as a collaborator with the pro-France faction.

And in political struggles, once a tactic yielded success, it would be difficult to resist using it again.

Furthermore, considering that the financial backer behind Batorio's faction was also playing a double game, it was foreseeable that they would soon be irrevocably tied to Count Buttafuoco.

Honestly, these novices in electoral politics, when viewed by Joseph—who had witnessed all sorts of Western political schemes in later generations—were as naive as elementary school students.

A week later.

Under the guidance of the newly appointed Speaker Girolamo, the Corsican assembly passed a new bill with an overwhelming majority.

The bill stipulated that Paoli would be permanently stripped of his Corsican citizenship. No Corsican was permitted to contact Paoli in any manner, under penalty of being convicted of treason. All of Paoli's private assets would be confiscated by the Corsican assembly to compensate for his embezzled funds, and his writings were forbidden from being sold in Corsica.

This series of decrees ostensibly targeted Paoli himself, but in reality, it dug out the roots of the Paoli faction within the Restoration Organization.