Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 581 - 492: Conclusive Evidence (Up for recommendation, please follow!)

"How is that possible?" The square-faced middle-aged man who had raised doubts earlier shook his head vigorously, "Mr. Poli might go to the United States to seek refuge, but he would never collude with the French people!"

"Mr. Cesare, then why did he embezzle the money Mr. Chalmers funded to the Restoration organization?" Bartolomeo said coldly.

"Obviously, Mr. Poli went to the United States with the intention of retiring," Girolamo immediately added fuel to the fire, "He took that twenty-five thousand British Pounds as his pension."

The crowd nodded in agreement:

"That’s probably the only explanation."

"He might also have received a sum of money from the French."

"That wouldn’t be surprising, he might have been assassinated by the French if he hadn’t compromised."

Only Cesare remained unconvinced, but he evidently could not find a reason to refute the argument and just shook his head persistently.

Girolamo, on the other hand, wore a grave expression and looked around at everyone:

"Gentlemen, let’s not talk about that money for now, I’ve just remembered something more important. We’re about to stage an uprising in Cargèse soon, and if Mr. Poli is colluding with the French, the uprising will become very dangerous."

Bartolomeo immediately nodded with furrowed brows:

"You’re right. But the uprising has been long in preparation, and if we cancel it just because of our suspicions, the other members of the organization might not agree."

There were many members in the Corsican Revival Organization, with nearly 40 deputies and important leaders combined. They were not authorized to change the plans of the uprising with just their group of seven.

Girolamo pretended to ponder for a moment and said, "I do have an idea. But it might require Mr. Bartolomeo to take responsibility."

"Tell me, I’ll do anything for the Restoration organization."

"I express, on behalf of the Corsican people, my sincerest gratitude to you," Girolamo tapped him and continued, "You’re in charge of the communication with the people in London. You can inform Mr. Poli that there has been an incident in Cargèse, and after discussion, everyone has agreed that the date of the uprising should be moved forward by three days.

"And the rest of us won’t leave this place from this moment onwards to ensure the news doesn’t leak.

"If the French are prepared at that time, it will confirm that Mr. Poli has betrayed us."

Bartolomeo’s eyebrows deeply furrowed. If Poli was innocent, then this act would be a betrayal of the organization. But if Poli truly were colluding with the French, it could save a great number of members who were part of the uprising.

He quickly made a decision and nodded:

"Alright! I agree to your plan and am willing to bear the consequences that arise from it."

He firmly believed Poli had embezzled everyone’s funding, so his actions would earn him merits for the organization.

Half a month later...

As dawn just began to break, hundreds of people with red cloth wrapped around their arms, carrying indistinct objects, silently surged towards the Cargèse town hall, with more joining along the way.

As they reached the front of the town hall, the lead person took out an elongated object from behind him and swung it forcefully. Before he could shout, suddenly, a large number of troops appeared—since the military affairs reform had not yet been carried out in Corsica, the military was still responsible for public order—and surrounded the people with red armbands, pointing flintlock guns at them.

An officer then loudly commanded, "I order that they all be arrested for the crime of insurrection."

As soon as he had finished speaking, a few of the red armbanded people protested:

"Sir, we’ve just come to the town hall to ask for a pay increase."

"You’re falsely accusing us; we weren’t starting an insurrection."

"Look, we’re just poor porters..."

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As he spoke, he took out a wooden sign from a sack, raising it up with "Increase pay by 3 francs per month" written on it. Continue your saga on novelbuddy

The officer, somewhat baffled, ordered someone to go forward and inspect. Indeed, all carried signs, banners, and the like, with no weapons to be found.

He had no choice but to take the leading individuals away for questioning, whilst everyone else could only be dispersed.

Later that afternoon...

In Girolamo’s home, seven deputies of the Restoration organization sat despondently scattered around the room.

After some time, Girolamo broke the silence, "We should thank Mr. Bartolomeo; he has saved the Restoration organization."

When the people heard this, they all nodded respectfully towards Bartolomeo. If it weren’t for his test of Poli, hundreds of members involved in the uprising would have been arrested.

"I have just done what needed to be done."

The latter waved his hand wearily and then continued in a frosty voice:

"Now it’s crystal clear; Poli has betrayed everyone. I only told him about advancing the uprising by three days, so it must have been him who leaked the information to the French!"

Everyone nodded in agreement with this conclusion, but in reality, they had fallen into a mental blind spot—

Although those involved in the planning hadn’t left the room that day, the idea to move the uprising up by three days could have been pre-agreed upon and presented in reverse by Girolamo. The Corsican army merely needed to wait for the date to arrive and then perform in Cargèse.

Even Cesare, who had previously trusted Poli the most, fell silent now, clenching his fists tightly, his eyes filled with anger.

Bartolomeo continued:

"I believe we can no longer allow Oscar Poli to serve as the leader of the Restoration organization; he must be expelled from the organization!"

Girolamo, not expecting his line to be stolen, quickly fanned the flames:

"I agree! It has always been us taking risks to propel the Restoration movement, while Poli just hid in England giving orders. Now he has even betrayed us!"

Cesare also followed with a shout:

"He doesn’t deserve to lead the organization! Let him be gone!"

Bartolomeo nodded:

"Then we’ll split up to contact other deputies and expel Poli at the next organizational meeting!"

The next day.

The seven Corsican deputies reconvened in Girolamo’s house, and there were six additional senior members of the Restoration organization present, as well as a middle-aged man with round glasses and a slightly plump figure.

Bartolomeo respectfully gestured towards the bespectacled middle-aged man and then introduced him to everyone:

"This is Mr. Chalmers; he’s very well-regarded in Scotland. I think you must all have heard of his great name."

The dozen people in the room eagerly and respectfully greeted Mr. Chalmers.

This was the top philanthropist who had generously donated twenty-five thousand British Pounds to the organization; everyone was extremely eager and enthusiastic.

Mr. Chalmers nodded in return to their greetings, then his expression turned serious and he said in a solemn voice:

"I’ve recently come to Ajaccio to invest in vineyards, but I heard about what happened with Mr. Poli. This made me very sad and angry!"

He raised his arms again, his voice growing more impassioned:

"But the great cause for restoration must not be interrupted by just one man! Here before me stands many brave restoration warriors."

He scanned the people:

"Therefore, I’ve decided to once again contribute twenty thousand British Pounds to support everyone in next year’s Corsican deputies election! With that scoundrel Poli out of the way, we can surely take control of the Congress in one fell swoop!"