Shadow of great britain

"I hear many people say that we should improve our country's representation system. However, so far, I have never read or heard anything that makes me completely satisfied. I fully believe that our current legislative body has been able to It has been able to solve legislative problems more perfectly than any other country's legislative body.

I further say that the British system of legislation and representation has commanded the complete and complete confidence of the nation. I go further and say that if I were asked to create a legislative body now, especially in a country like the United Kingdom that holds a lot of wealth of all kinds, I am not sure that I can establish a system that is the same as the existing system in our country. of institutions.

Because the British political system has a long and excellent tradition, the new system cannot reach such a perfect stage all at once. All I can do now is create a legislative body that pursues the same results. The current system of people's representatives includes most of the country's wealth owners, in which land interests occupy a major position.

In these circumstances I do not intend to suggest to your Lordships any other measures. Not only am I not prepared to introduce any such measure, but I would like to declare that for myself, during my time in the House of Lords, I have still firmly considered it my duty to oppose any such proposal. reform measures. "

—Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, speaking in the House of Lords in 1832.

The Duke of Wellington stepped off the podium, sat down, turned to the Earl of Aberdeen, and asked: "What do you think of what I said?"

The cautious former foreign minister, the Earl of Aberdeen, tactfully relayed to the Duke the opinion of an onlooker: "He said we were going out."

——"Reports of the British Parliament in the 19th Century"

"196 to 111, the reform bill was rejected by the House of Lords for the third time"

"A terrible sight!" After the reform bill was blocked, appalling chaos broke out in the House of Lords, with noble Lords shouting curses and throwing fists at each other.

"The generals who were born in the army showed great power in the melee, while the lawyers and judges were at a clear disadvantage"

"According to bystanders present, this was a great reenactment of a medieval war, with the Marquis of Salisbury narrowly missing a heavy punch in the third round."

"After the scene completely got out of control, the salute of St. James's Palace roared, announcing that His Majesty the King was leaving the palace for the Palace of Westminster, where the House of Lords is located"

"His Majesty the King was furious in the House of Lords. He rebuked all the Lords who participated in the fight in the same way that a Royal Navy Marshal reprimanded sailors, and sternly warned them that if they did not stop, they would be hung from the mast and whipped."

"The Duke of Wellington: The Whigs' grand promises to the working people were false because no one proposed to give them universal suffrage"

"The Duke of Wellington, in his capacity as Chief Constable of Britain, inspected police officers from across the country and patrol teams from all police districts of the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday afternoon."

"After the Prime Minister Earl Gray and the Lord Chancellor Lord Brougham failed to persuade His Majesty the King to increase the number of Whig nobles, the Whig Gray Cabinet decided to launch a party general message"

"The Gray cabinet announced their collective resignation, and the throne of No. 10 Downing Street is hanging in the balance"

"His Majesty the King urgently summoned the Earl of Lyndhurst at Buckingham Palace to consult the leader of the barons on the candidate for the new Prime Minister"

"According to reliable sources, this bold baronet suggested to His Majesty that the new Prime Minister should be recommended by the Duke of Wellington"

"The Earl of Lyndhurst visited No. 1 Apsley House in London this Thursday to have an emergency meeting with the Duke of Wellington"

"The Duke of Wellington: I will save His Majesty from the hands of extremists"

"Tory caucus discusses new Prime Minister candidate at White Club"

"Former Lord of the Admiralty Crocker recommended Lord Harrosby because His Excellency has a high prestige among the Tory 'renegades' and may be able to bridge party conflicts and assume leadership responsibilities"

"The Duke of Wellington was suspicious of Lord Harosby because he believed Lord Harosby would not be acceptable to the Royalists"

"Who is the new prime minister?" Robert Peel's name seems to be coming out"

"Sir Peel issued a personal statement: Due to limited ability, I have no intention of running for the position of Prime Minister"

A sudden heavy rain fell like a dramatic curtain over the historic city of London.

The originally gray sky seemed to be soaked in ink, and the clouds were so low that you could almost touch them, and they were as thick as lead.

The wind first quietly gathered strength, and then began to shuttle through the streets and alleys, swaying the branches and leaves of street trees, bringing an ominous coolness.

In an instant, the raindrops hit the stone pavement like broken pearls, and the crisp impact sounds quickly gathered into a manic symphony.

The rain poured down like an arrow, and the continuous curtain of water blurred the outline of the building, turning the busy streets and alleys into a rushing stream in an instant.

Pedestrians opened black umbrellas one after another, but they were still unable to withstand the heavy rain. Their shoes were splashed with mud and their clothes clung to their bodies. Looking down from the third floor of Scotland Yard, these pedestrians and umbrellas seem to form a dark road leading to hell.

Next to the floor-to-ceiling windows with dark red curtains, Arthur had his hands behind his back, his hair was still on his back as usual, and the Assistant Superintendent's epaulettes composed of the St. Edward's badge and the baton seemed to have dimmed in such weather. few.

Louis was standing behind him, holding a document and reporting on the recent bad situation in London.

"Right now, civil indignation is rising and London seems to be going as crazy as Paris. Our informants report to us that Blackfly and Rotanda are holding reform rallies almost every night. According to their tips , our police teams raided these gathering places and discovered a large stockpile of red, white and blue cap badges."

Speaking of this, Louis couldn't help but swallowed.

As a true Frenchman, no one knows what the red, white and blue colors represent better than him.

Blue represents freedom, white represents equality, and red represents fraternity, and when these three colors are put together, they represent revolution.

Arthur took off his pipe and slowly blew out a puff of smoke that hit the window glass: "How are the guards deployed near the Duke's residence?"

Louis turned to the next page of the document and replied: "We are now almost convinced that the assassination of His Excellency the Duke himself is a fact. Last weekend, a group of marching thugs threw many stones at Apsley House. block, and someone fired a gun towards the second floor, damaging a painting in the mansion. A servant of His Excellency climbed up to the roof and fired a shot from a large shotgun, which scared off the group. thug.

After this incident, we urgently dispatched manpower to ensure that there was at least one armed officer guarding behind every window of Apsley House. Worryingly, we now find that as the Duke rides past Whitehall, the crowds no longer tip their hats to him, but are replaced by many angry roars and accusations.

In order to ensure the personal safety of His Excellency, we have informed His Excellency the Duke’s private secretary and hope that he can persuade the Duke of Wellington to postpone or simply cancel his participation in the dinner held at the Mayor’s residence in London this weekend. Because due to the nature of the work of the Metropolitan Police, we cannot send bodyguards for him. This would be an act beyond our authority. "

When Arthur heard this, he closed his eyes, raised his head and rubbed his face fiercely. He took a deep breath and said, "I have contacted the Army in advance about private security. The Cavalry Guards said they Are willing to serve on your behalf. Six well-trained Cavalry Guards expressed their willingness to temporarily retire from active service in order to protect the safety of the Duke, and their chaplain also expressed that at this moment, he is willing to stand with His Excellency the Duke on behalf of God. There are With the escort of these six cavalry and a battle priest, plus the servants of His Excellency the Duke, I believe that as long as the old man does not go to the battlefield, most places should be safe."

When Louis heard this, he couldn't help but worry: "This is what I am worried about at the moment. Because according to my understanding, veterans like the Duke who rolled off the battlefield generally don't care about life and death. They care more about spiritual things. . If we tell him straightforwardly where there is danger, he might actually follow that place."

"Spiritual things..."

Arthur turned around and patted Louis on the shoulder: "Since you know where his Achilles' heel is, why don't you make good use of it to do things? Louis, just because the Duke is not afraid of death does not mean that he is not afraid of other people's death. You Have you forgotten? His Majesty the King may also attend the London Mayor’s banquet at the weekend.”

Louis' eyes lit up when he heard this, and he stood at attention and saluted: "Understood, sir. I assure you, this banquet will definitely be cancelled."

He hurriedly collected the documents and walked quickly to the door. However, as soon as he opened the door, he found Disraeli standing outside.

Louis said in surprise: "Benjamin? What are you doing here at Scotland Yard at this time? Shouldn't the Tory Party be busy at this time?"

Disraeli raised his little eyebrows and curled his lips and said: "Yes! All the big shots are as anxious as ants on a hot pot, but I am not a big shot. Whoever the Prime Minister wants to do this kind of thing, I will even go to the table to interrupt. I have no qualifications. The only thing I know is that I will support whomever Earl Lyndhurst supports."

At this point, Disraeli added self-deprecatingly: "But I am not completely useless. At least I can freely choose whether to raise both hands or one hand when I agree."

Louis shrugged helplessly, put his arm around his back and sent him into the office: "I still have things to do. Let's talk about these things slowly when we have a drink and party another day."

Disraeli straightened his collar: "It's an honor, my dear Louis."

boom.

As soon as the office door closed, Disraeli turned his head and saw Arthur had come to him with two glasses of wine.

Arthur handed him a glass: "Benjamin, I am extremely glad that you were elected as a member of Parliament. If it weren't for you, I would have turned a blind eye to what is currently happening in British politics. The newspapers are full of fake news, who knows? Can you tell me whether His Majesty the King has decided who will be the Prime Minister?"

Disraeli sat on the sofa with his legs crossed and the goblet in his hand kept swinging: "Arthur, don't talk nonsense. His Majesty the King has not yet appointed him. The next Prime Minister must go through a relatively democratic process." Selection process.”

Arthur sat on the sofa and asked: "How democratic?"

"How democratic?" Disraeli took a sip of wine and commented with a frown: "To be precise, this candidate must at least go through the Duke of Wellington, the Earl of Eldon, the Earl of Lyndhurst, and the Five men, Rock and Sir Peel, agreed."

Arthur said: "Of course I know, but my question is why Sir Peel refused to be the new prime minister. Because in my opinion, in terms of social opinion and overall strength, the Tory Party is currently the most suitable The choice is him.”

When Disraeli heard this, he couldn't help but complain.

"Arthur, not just you, everyone thinks so. At the White Club caucus meeting last week, Crocker came up and asked: 'Who should be the new prime minister?' At that time, no matter who we were Both the newcomers and the big shots immediately looked at Sir Peel. After making eye contact with Sir Peel, Earl Lyndhurst even nodded slightly towards him.

But what everyone did not expect was that Sir Peel told everyone in an unusual tone: "Under the current situation, forming a new government will almost certainly require continuing to promote the reform bill, and I cannot and do not want to have anything to do with this matter." . I had already disgraced myself over the Catholic Emancipation Act, and was determined not to do it again. ’”

When Arthur heard this, he finally understood the biggest reason for the Tory Prime Minister's difficulty in giving birth.

It’s not that they don’t have suitable candidates, but because of the Catholic Emancipation Act, no one dares to jump out at this moment.

As Sir Peel said, even if the Whig party falls and the Tories return to power, judging from the current trend, if the new Tory cabinet does not continue to promote the reform bill, then their rule will not last long.

However, if the new cabinet chooses to push forward a reform bill, even an extremely conservative reform bill, it will inevitably cause a new round of backlash within the Tory Party, exacerbate party divisions, and undermine the new cabinet’s influence within the Tory Party. political prestige.

Figures like the Duke of Wellington were ruined by the Catholic Emancipation Act. When others saw the Duke's fate, how could they dare to make up for it?

Arthur figured out the problem and immediately asked: "If that's the case... Sir Peel is not willing to accept it, then Lord Harrosby..."

Disraeli rolled his eyes: "Similarly, he is not willing to come out. And not only is the Prime Minister difficult to give birth, but the Tory Party's new Speaker of Parliament also has no one who is willing to do it. At the moment, we can't find anyone who is willing to do it. Someone who comes out to organize a government.”

When Arthur heard this, he couldn't help but get up and pace back and forth.

Maybe the citizens of London don't know how chaotic the government is at this time, but as a policeman in public, Arthur knows it all too well.

Why did the Duke's personal safety issue come into his hands? This was of course not because Arthur took the initiative to ask for help, but because the Ministry of Internal Affairs could not find a person in charge at this time.

Without the seal of the Home Secretary, whoever takes over the Duke's security affairs will be the first person responsible.

If nothing happens to Your Excellency, you will get no credit, but if something happens, you will be the first to take the blame.

The Whig cabinet has resigned, but the Tories have yet to elect a new cabinet...

Today, the great ship of Britain is not only lacking a captain and helmsman, but also a first mate, a second mate, and a third mate.

During this week, the entire administrative machinery of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was operating almost entirely on inertia. Arthur never imagined that unmanned driving technology had been pioneered by the United Kingdom as early as the 19th century.

Seeing Arthur's anxious look, Disraeli could only smile helplessly, stood up and comforted: "But, Arthur, don't be anxious first, because there is no point in being anxious. And according to the current news, if the Prime Minister is chosen It has been difficult to give birth, so one person is going to take action personally."

Arthur stopped, stared at Disraeli's face and asked: "You mean the Duke of Wellington?"

"That's right."

Disraeli recalled: "After the meeting that night, I happened to hear the Duke of Wellington say privately to the Earl of Lyndhurst: 'I am very worried whether we can get rid of the king's overbearing ministers. No matter what His Majesty the King orders me to do, I am fully prepared. I am as opposed to the reform as ever. But no matter how many difficulties there are, I am personally fearless and no difficulty can stop me from serving His Majesty the King and This country is doing everything it can.'"