Shadow of great britain

In the golden afterglow of the setting sun, a gorgeously decorated open-top carriage traveled leisurely through Paris, an ancient but revitalized city.

For the two passengers in the car, how would they describe the city of Paris?

First of all, it is of course a big city. In today's world, there are a total of 19 big cities with a population of more than 500,000, and only 5 of them are in Europe. They are London, Constantinople, Naples, St. Petersburg and Paris.

The Luxembourg Palace, the Tuileries Palace, the French Institute, the Paris Observatory and the famous Invalides are all located here. More importantly, it is also the cartographic center of the entire France and even Europe.

At this moment, the two passengers were holding a map of Paris in their hands.

Among the countless maps of Paris, it is neither the latest nor the most detailed. It is not the oldest, but it is the most historically significant.

It was painted in 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution and the first year of the French Republic.

This year, Louis XVI convened the Estates-General.

This year, the National Assembly issued the Tennis Court Declaration, and all representatives of the third estate parliament swore in the heavy rain at the Royal Tennis Court: "The conference will never be dissolved until a constitution is formulated."

This year, Louis XVI ordered the dissolution of the National Assembly at the Royal Council. Count Honoré Mirabeau yelled at the master of ceremonies sent by the king: "Go back and tell your master that we are here under orders from the people." , We will never leave the table unless the swords are drawn!"

This year, after the stuttering young journalist Camille Desmoulins learned that the reform promoter and finance minister Jacques Necker had been dismissed by the king, he excitedly jumped on the cafe table and called on the Paris people to launch an uprising: "This time The dismissal is a wake-up call to the patriots for the massacre of St. Bartholomew! Citizens, the German soldiers hired by the King are coming to Paris to bring bloodshed and carnage. Take up arms and prepare for battle. Wear the tricolor cap badge so that Identifying each other is our only way to survive!"

This year, "Take up arms! Go to the Bastille!"

This year, Louis XVI asked the Duke of Lyoncourt next to him: "Is this a rebellion?"

This year, the Duke of Leoncourt replied: "No, Your Majesty, this is a revolution."

This year, women angry about the chronic lack of food and bread rang church bells in the market near Saint-Antoine. They demanded the expulsion of 'foreign mercenaries led by the Legion of Flanders and the Royal Swiss Guards'. army, and to restore adequate food supplies', a force led by six thousand women marched on Versailles under the leadership of Stanislaus Mayall.

In this year, the Marquis de Lafayette, commander of the Paris garrison, said to Louis XVI: "Your Majesty, I unfortunately inform you that the soldiers of the National Guard refused to suppress the parade. There is a high possibility of mutiny in my army."

This year, under the protection of the National Guard led by the Marquis de Lafayette, Louis XVI left the Palace of Versailles and moved to the Tuileries Palace in a hurry.

In this year, France passed the "August Decree" and the "Declaration of Human Rights", announcing the nationalization of church property across the country and the abolition of feudalism.

This is a very special year for all French people.

But for the two French gentlemen on the carriage, this year was special not just because of the Revolution.

Because also in 1789, their uncle and father, artillery second lieutenant Napoleon Bonaparte of the Raphael Artillery Regiment, also saw his opportunity. This second lieutenant from Corsica took advantage of the outbreak of the French Revolution to Joined the Corsican nationalist group headed by the Jacobins, trying to help the Corsicans get rid of French rule by launching a revolution.

Although it sounds funny, this young man who was only 20 years old at the time was indeed a separatist that he would later find deeply disgusting.

As Voltaire said: Human nature is so complex that a person can play multiple roles in his life. Sometimes he is a hero, sometimes he is a coward, sometimes he is a wise man, sometimes he is a fool.

This applies not only to the most ordinary Parisian civilian, but also to the much-anticipated French Emperor.

The carriage was swaying, and Louis Bonaparte looked up at both banks of the Seine. The plane trees on the avenue were neatly arranged, and the wind blew through and swayed the mottled shadows of the trees.

Perhaps the young man beside him who looked very much like his uncle reminded him of something, and Louis couldn't help but be a little moved by the scene.

He suddenly pointed to the looming Champs Elysées Palace behind the buildings in front and said: "I still remember that when my uncle just returned to Paris from Elba Island, my mother took my brother and me to see him. Although he blamed his mother When he fell, he changed his family and surrendered to the restored Bourbon dynasty, but he was still very happy to see my brother and me.

He carried me to the window of the Champs Elysees Palace and let me watch the military review on the Place de la Carrousel. Marshal Sirte was also there at the time, and he said to Marshal Sirte: ‘Hug this child, Marshal! One day, he may become the hope of our family. ’

Later, the uncle's Hundred Days Dynasty failed. He was defeated by the anti-French coalition led by Wellington at Waterloo. I met him one more time before being exiled to St. Helena. He held me in his arms and asked me to look down at the whole of Paris. He told me that if God gave him another twenty years of rule and a little leisure, people would search for ancient Paris in vain and nothing would be left except ruins. Down.

He wanted to create a great state comparable to Greece or Rome. To this end, he had built many towering neoclassical arches, such as the Arc de Triomphe. He built numerous public works projects, such as new docks and canals on the Seine, as well as slaughterhouses, markets, and warehouses. However, he no longer had any extra time. "

Having said this, Louis turned to look at the cousin next to him. Seeing that the outline of his face, forehead and mouth were very similar to Napoleon, Louis couldn't help but feel jealous.

But it was just a little jealousy, because he knew that although the other party was Napoleon's biological son, he was only an illegitimate son after all, and Napoleon's original promise to him was only to make him the king of Poland, and Not the Emperor of France.

Charles-Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is the real Bonaparte, and although Alexander Corona Valewski is closer to Napoleon from a biological perspective, he cannot be regarded as the core of the Bonaparte family. A member of the circle.

Walewski also seemed a little moved by the situation. He was only five years old when Napoleon was exiled, and his mother also died in the second year after Napoleon's fall.

Walewski was cared for by his stepfather and grew up in Belgium until he was 14 years old. Those Zionists who fled from Poland regarded him as their leader and hoped that at the right time, Walewski, the king of Poland appointed by Napoleon, would take over the banner of Poland's restoration.

Tsarist Russia was worried about Walewski's influence among the Poles, so when he was 14 years old, he conscripted Polish citizen Walewski to serve in the Russian army.

Walewski refused to accept the call from Tsarist Russia, so with the help of his stepfather, he fled London to Paris.

When the Polish uprising broke out two years ago, Walewski set out for Warsaw on the secret orders of French King Louis Philippe to join the newly formed Polish uprising government.

As soon as Walewski returned to Warsaw, he was warmly welcomed by the Poles. The uprising government immediately appointed him as a diplomatic envoy and secretly visited London to seek help.

Unfortunately, due to various unexplained reasons, Walewski's trip to London did not go smoothly. He failed to get any substantial help from British Foreign Secretary Palmerston, not even a word. All the verbal encouragement was in vain.

To make matters worse, a Scotland Yard police officer who was supposed to have nothing to do with this incident was also stabbed on the street in Liverpool because of this trip for help. From then on, he had a red eye.

Valewski took a deep breath: "Louis, my cousin, I know, and you know, we have been having a hard time these years. Your brother died in the Carbonari uprising in Italy, Rome Wang died of tuberculosis in Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, and the newly rising fire in Warsaw was extinguished by the biting cold wind in St. Petersburg. But looking forward, our spine will never be bent by this moment of difficulty. "

Louis smiled and responded: "You are right, Alexander, that's why I returned to Paris. There is no use in escaping. I have to face all this sooner or later. Why are the men of the Bonaparte family afraid of standing on the soil of Paris? ? This is obviously the land where we grew up. You woke up much earlier than me. If I remember correctly, you have been living in Paris for seven or eight years, right?"

Valewski nodded and said: "This is already the ninth year, but I didn't wake up earlier than you, but I had no choice but to do so. At that time, the Russians asked almost all the countries where I lived to extradite me, and only France The government clearly rejects this rude request. Whether it is the restored Bourbon dynasty or Louis Philippe now, they are not willing to hand over my useful chess piece to the Russians. Holding me in your hands is like holding a Russian’s private parts.”

When Louis heard this, he said helplessly: "It seems that you have been forced to do so in Paris all these years."

Walewski smiled openly: "Louis, you can't make egg pancakes without breaking the eggs. Do you remember this sentence? I still remember that Uncle Joseph often said this sentence back then. "

Louis leaned on the carriage and smiled and replied: "It's the same now. If you go to the Regent Crescent Building in London to find him, you can hear this sentence coming out of his mouth every now and then. I wanted to be a policeman at Scotland Yard before, and my mother If he didn't agree, he used this sentence to persuade my mother: "You can't make egg pancakes without breaking the eggs. You want to make Louis an outstanding young man, but you don't want him to receive the experience he should have." , how can this be done?'"

Walewski asked curiously: "Have you ever worked at Scotland Yard? What kind of duties did you do?"

Louis joked: "I mainly work as a junior and do clerical work. When you were in London last year, did you see the name Arthur Hastings in the newspaper? He is from the Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant Commissioner of Police, oh, no, it should be called the Royal Metropolitan Police now."

"Arthur Hastings..." Walewski recalled: "I seem to have some impression, but I remember not seeing it from the newspaper, but seeing it on the sign at the entrance of the theater. There was also a pianist. Called Arthur Hastings.”

"That pianist is him."

Louis laughed and said: "My boss is usually very busy with business. He works in Whitehall Street during the day from Monday to Friday. In the evening after work, he goes to the Martin's Tavern in Whitechapel to check out the venues, or to Greenwich. His old acquaintance, Mr. Wheatstone, had a romantic relationship. He would go to the Royal Society every now and then to study. On Saturdays, he would give concerts at several theaters near Covent Garden, and on Sundays, he would go to the editorial office of "The British" in Fleet Street. review."

Walewski asked curiously: "Is this guy a workaholic? Doesn't he usually join clubs or banquet salons or something?"

"Of course I'm participating."

Louis said: "When there are no performances scheduled on holidays, he is a guest of the ladies of the Blue Stocking Club. If there are no arrangements by the Blue Stocking Club, he goes hunting foxes with the young master of the Rothschild family in the forest outside the city. Or play golf with Mr. Talleyrand, or call us friends together to play a game of cricket or something.

The most interesting time is when playing cricket. Usually we get up early and start preparing meals in the morning. After preparing them, we go to the cricket ground with the packed food. A game is played from morning to afternoon, and we get tired and hungry in the middle. When we get there, we lay out a blanket on the grass for a picnic and chat while eating. "

Having said this, Louis turned to ask: "What about you? Alexander, what do you usually do?"

Walewski blinked: "I... I'm actually about the same. It's just that in the past two years, due to the problems in Poland, I haven't been able to rest quietly for a long time."

Louis asked: "Although it is rude to ask, but... how did you return to Paris after the failure of the Polish uprising?"

Walewski said: "After the fall of Warsaw, they quickly helped me get the documents to return to France. In order to prevent Tsarist Russia from using my Polish citizenship to extradite, Louis Philippe arranged for me to enter France as a foreign national. Legion service. Originally, I was supposed to go to Algiers with the Foreign Legion at this time, but because you were coming to Paris, the government postponed my schedule and asked me to entertain you as the host. "

When Louis heard this, he was silent for a while.

Valewski also knew what he was worried about. He pursed his lips and explained: "Louis, you can't make an egg pancake without breaking the eggs. I know this is difficult for you, but since you Now that you are in Paris, go and see Louis Philippe. You have reason to hate him, and so do I, but the situation is stronger than the person. If you want to live openly in France, you must meet him. There are a lot of things wrong with him, but he is not a difficult person to get along with. What's more, at this time, he still needs you. "

Louis frowned when he heard this: "What does he want to ask of me?"

Valewski sighed: "You should know about the uprising in Paris last year, right? Louis Philippe wants to use your identity to express goodwill to the Bonapartists in the country. Whether it is false or sincere, he should He has told me many times that he respects Napoleon Bonaparte very much, and he is still considering moving Napoleon’s coffin from the place of exile back to Paris for a grand burial.”

When Louis heard this, he felt a chill in his heart. He had already guessed the ultimate purpose of Louis Philippe's invitation to return to the country.

"He wants to use me as his representative to go to St. Helena Island to pick up his uncle's coffin?"

Walewski neither said yes nor no, he just looked at Louis eagerly: "That's your uncle and my father. But, Louis, I can't force you, the final decision is yours."

Louis closed his eyes, raised his head and took a deep breath. He said nothing, but it could be seen from his rising and falling chest that this proud Bonaparte was very angry.

He didn't like such a political deal, not to mention that the bargaining chip was the body of his most beloved uncle.

"Napoleon is dead, but even so, do they still want to squeeze a few gold coins out of him!"

As soon as Louis finished speaking, the carriage suddenly stopped suddenly and almost threw the two brothers out of the carriage.

The angry Louis was about to scold the coachman angrily, but before he could speak, he saw the two culprits blocking the carriage's progress.

Arthur held the cane in one hand and raised the other hand slightly. His white gloves were spotless.

"Louis, is this your new friend? Although it may be inappropriate for me to say this, but if you are not busy, why not come and help me? The compensation given by Mr. Vidocq is not bad, at least it is significantly higher than what we have at Scotland Yard. starting salary.”

Walewski saw this familiar British gentleman, turned to his cousin and asked: "Louis, do you know him?"

Seeing Arthur's "making money is important" expression, Louis had no choice but to curl his lips and said: "Come on, Alexander, let me introduce to you. This is the pianist in the theater, my former boss-Arthur "Lord Hastings."