Shadow of great britain

In a small room in the alley, several pairs of bare feet stood on the damp floor.

Arthur leaned on a chair with his hands tied behind his back. Under the dim kerosene lamp, Arthur calmly looked at the group of nervous assassins.

To Arthur's surprise, the dress of these people was far from the image of professional assassins who received large sums of money in his impression.

Most people's only clothes were a goat skin covering from the base of the neck to the knees and a pair of white coarse cloth trousers. The thread used in the coarse cloth trousers was spun very thickly, which showed the sloppy tailoring skills.

The long brown-black hair drooped on both sides of the cheeks, naturally tangled with the goat skin on the body, and was almost tangled. Generally speaking, assassins are desperate people who value money over life, and their vicious attitude is their true portrayal, but these assassins always lowered their heads and their eyes involuntarily liked to stare at the ground.

Their faces were completely covered by their hair. If you looked from a distance, it would be easy to mistake their goat-skin coats for living creatures. The people standing here were not a group of people, but a group of pitiful goats grazing.

Only when you get close to them can you find a pair of eyes flashing behind their long hair, like crystal dewdrops on the treetops in the morning. Their eyes reflected the kerosene lamp, which looked very bright, but not very pleasing, and slightly scary.

Everyone here wore a red woolen hat. There were sticks leaning against the wall of the house, and a coarse cloth bag full of clothes and change was tied to the tip of the stick.

As for a small number of people with better circumstances, they wore soft hats and a wide-brimmed felt hat on the outside. They did not wear sheepskin, but still wore coarse cloth clothes. Their long hair fell to the collar of their round-breasted coats. There was a small square pocket on each of the two lapels of this coat, which was just right for storing small things.

They all opened their coats, revealing the same cloth waistcoat with thick buttons on it. Some wore clogs, and some had shoes but didn't wear them. Instead, they went barefoot and held their shoes in their hands.

These clothes looked very old, perhaps older than the time Arthur spent studying at the University of London and serving in Scotland Yard, so they looked dirty, covered with mud and sweat, black and undignified.

As a young man who had lived in the countryside of York for many years, Arthur could tell the identities of these people at a glance. They were all farmers. Some were Yeoman farmers (self-employed farmers), and some were probably hired farmers.

In the countryside of Yorkshire, there were also some poor farmers who still wore similar clothes. But compared to these people in front of him, York's situation was obviously much better, because even in the countryside, it is difficult to find such ancient style of clothing nowadays.

And why these Yeoman farmers in front of him held their shoes in their hands, if Arthur had not lived in the countryside of York, he would never understand. In the poor rural families, shoes are never used for walking, but for appearance. When traveling, they go barefoot, and only change into shoes when entering the city. Although this sounds incredible, it is the truth.

However, not all of these people are dressed in rags. For example, the assassins who were responsible for the assassination mission just now, even if they were mixed into the streets of Paris, the fashion capital, they would not be regarded as poor provincials, but as upper-class gentlemen who grew up in Paris.

They wore blue cloth trousers, red and yellow waistcoats with double rows of copper buttons, and well-cut brown coats on the outside. The collar of the shirt was buckled with silver buttons, and the buttons were heart-shaped or anchor-shaped. Such clothes contrasted sharply with the white cloth shirts and furs of the companions around them, just like cornflowers and poppies growing in the wheat fields.

The clothes of this group of people are just like living history textbooks. Some of them lived in the Middle Ages, some lived in the Renaissance, and only a very small number of them looked like modern people in the 19th century.

Arthur looked at this group of French peasants. He didn't know whether it was because he felt friendly or because he had been locked in the house for a while, so his feverish head became calm. In short, he was not very worried about his own situation, but was very interested in the origins of the group of people in front of him.

If living in the 19th century for a long time has changed Arthur the most, then the first thing must be that Arthur has taken his personal life and death less seriously.

In this era, many people did not live to adulthood. Even if they barely reached adulthood, they had to face a series of infectious diseases such as scarlet fever, whooping cough, typhus, etc.

Louis's brother died of urticaria, and his unlucky cousin, Napoleon's son, died of tuberculosis. Even these noble Bonapartes could not escape this disaster, let alone ordinary people.

If you are lucky and have prevented all of these, don't worry. Maybe you can be stabbed by a thug robber who suddenly appeared in the alley, or you may be rewarded with a peanut for watching the excitement at the assassination scene.

There are countless people who died from assassinations, such as Spencer Percival, the former Prime Minister of Britain, and the Duke of Berry, the crown prince during the French Restoration.

Arthur stayed in his chair and looked at the group of people in front of him, and these people were also looking at him.

Most people in the room didn't speak, but occasionally pretended to glance at Arthur's beautiful new clothes.

The leading assassins were talking enthusiastically in French with a strong accent. Although Arthur's French level had improved by leaps and bounds under the guidance of Alexandre Dumas, and he could even use various swear words fluently, he still knew nothing about the dialects and slangs of various parts of France.

What was even more strange was that the accents of these people did not even sound like French at all, but rather like Welsh spoken by Welsh country people.

They discussed for a while around a lame table. At last, the leading assassin seemed to have made a great decision. He slapped the table, picked up the business card he had found in Arthur's pocket, walked up to him, pointed at the words on it and asked seriously: "Are you a British diplomat?"

Arthur did not answer directly, but tilted his head and asked back: "The Kedoux Mansion is the location of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Is it strange for a diplomat to appear there?"

The other party was relieved when he heard this. He gave Arthur a bear hug: "Fortunately you are British, otherwise we would have to kill you today."

When the others heard that the person chasing them was actually a British, their serious and dull faces also had some shy smiles.

"It's a brother."

"It's a British brother."

Arthur was confused by them. A series of sensitive documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs flashed through his mind in an instant, but no matter how he searched, he could not find a document authorizing the special department to assassinate French King Louis Philippe.

For a moment, Arthur's first reaction was to ask if the assassins were hired by the Tories, because today's banquet not only had him, the second-class secretary, but also Whig radicals such as Earl Daramore.

Everyone knew that Earl Daramore had drafted the "Parliamentary Reform" bill, and in the past twenty years, he and Lord Brougham have always been regarded as unwavering flag bearers of parliamentary reform. If the Tories wanted to take advantage of his trip to Europe, it would not be incomprehensible.

But...

Arthur thought about it. With the temper of the Duke of Wellington and Sir Peel, they didn't seem to be people who liked to intensify conflicts. The Duke of Wellington hated to use such despicable means outside the rules. Sir Peel was known for his upright way of doing things, whether he was right or wrong.

Whether it was the Catholic Emancipation Act or the issue of parliamentary reform, the two of them had maintained maximum restraint. If they wanted to take action, it would have been the best time to do so when the reform bill was passed last year.

There was no direct fighting at that time, so why drag it on until now?

The assassin saw Arthur in a daze and thought he was frightened.

The leading assassin asked his companions to untie the sack on the stick, took out a gourd tied with a thin rope from it, poured some pungent liquor from it and pushed it in front of Arthur: "This is our homemade apple liquor, drink some, warm up first."

Arthur did not refuse the host's warm hospitality. Although this wine is definitely not as good as those in the banquet at the Kaidaosai Mansion, the farmers' homemade wine always reminds him of some of his childhood in the countryside of York.

Whenever he got sick in the rain, he couldn't sleep in the haystack, so he went to the employer's house to ask for a glass of homemade wine mixed with water. After drinking the wine, his head was dizzy, and he wrapped himself in a pile of straw and slept until the next morning. He sweated and his illness was cured.

Arthur looked at the turbid wine in the white wax cup and just knocked his head against the back of the chair behind him: "I do need to warm myself up, but you have to untie me first. By the way, are you all from Britain?"

The assassin seemed very happy to hear Arthur mention Britain. He untied Arthur's rope and said: "Yes, we are all from Britain, but not from Great Britain, but from Little Britain (Brittany)."

"Brittany?" Arthur was stunned for a moment: "Are you Bretons?"

Brittany is a region in northwestern France. In French, Great Britain is called Grande Bretagne, which is translated literally as Great Brittany. In English, Brittany is written as Brittany, which means Little Britain.

The origin of Brittany and Britain can be traced back to the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC. At that time, in addition to the civilized people - the Romans, Europe was also inhabited by three barbarians in the eyes of the Romans, namely the Celts, the Germans and the Slavs.

Among them, the Celts are mainly distributed in western Europe, and a branch of the Celts is called the Britons.

The territory of this group of Britons is located in the Brittany Peninsula in France and the island of Great Britain across the Channel.

After that, the Roman Empire completed the conquest of western Europe through war and established the Gaul Province and the British Province in France and Britain.

When the Roman Empire declined, the Anglo-Saxons among the Germans crossed the English Channel to conquer Great Britain and established seven small countries, and the Franks among the Germans conquered the Gaul region and established the Frankish Kingdom.

However, although the Franks were successful in Gaul, they encountered many setbacks in Brittany, which was dominated by the Britons. In the 10th century, due to the continuous invasion of Viking pirates, the lords of Brittany took the initiative to submit to the king of West Frank and seek asylum.

But even though Brittany was annexed to the Franks, the Britons were still restless. When William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, claimed the throne of England, many Brittany knights took the initiative to join him and help He conquered England by defeating King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings.

William the Conqueror was able to ascend to heaven, and these knights from Little Britain were naturally granted the title of knights in Great Britain.

The subsequent Hundred Years' War between England and France was also caused by Henry II's coveting of the land of the Principality of Brittany.

Judging from this complicated historical origin, there is indeed nothing wrong with these Brittany brothers and Britain.

Although Britain and France have not had this relationship since ancient times, from a biological perspective, the blood relationship between the Brittany and the Britons is indeed closer.

From the perspective of embarrassing France, the Frankish Kingdom began to use troops against Brittany in the fifth century AD. It was not until the tenth century AD that Brittany annexed it because of its surrender, and it survived the French for five hundred years. He didn't fall down despite all the attacks. At this glance, he knew that he was Britain's thin brother.

Great Britain is Britain, but Little Britain is not Britain?

The assassin untied the rope from Arthur's body and said apologetically: "I should have thought of it earlier, Hastings, this is definitely a British surname. If I had known that there would be British diplomats participating in tonight's banquet, we would have You should wait until Louis Philippe gets on the carriage before taking action. But you are so impulsive, why do you have to follow us all the way here?"

Arthur loosened his tight wrist and asked, "You and two of your companions were left on the street. Are they okay?"

"Don't worry, they will have someone to help them."

The assassin did not describe the subsequent actions in detail. It could be seen that although he was sure that Arthur would not report them, he did not fully trust the brother he said.

Arthur picked up the white wax cup, contacted the other party's Brittany identity, and instantly guessed their identities: "So, you are the Juans of Brittany? I remember The Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperated with you to assassinate Napoleon before, using the same bomb carriage. Oh, by the way, it seems that you also helped rescue General Sidney Smith of the Royal Navy when he was captured in Toulon Port."

The assassin heard that Arthur was familiar with the glorious history of the Juan Party, and nodded with a smile: "My father also participated in the plan to rescue General Sidney Smith. General Sidney Smith burned half of the Port of Toulon. The warship, so Napoleon hated him deeply and sentenced him to life imprisonment for the "Toulon arson". My father and the others forged the prison transfer documents and sent him in disguise on a fishing boat back to England. "

When the farmers standing behind the assassin heard this, they all showed innocent smiles to relieve their anger. Some people even punched the air and cursed: "Napoleon is a bastard, the republicans, the Poles." Both the Napartites and the Orléans must die!"

Along with this shouting, the other peasants also cheered: "Long live the king!"

Such a scene left Monk Arthur Zhanger scratching his head, so much so that he once wondered if he had drank too much tonight and was hallucinating.

Although he also believed that regardless of whether they were republicans, Bonapartists or Orléansists, it was difficult to pick out a single person with good character among this group of professional political party members. However, the farmers' outspoken expression of their love for the king still somewhat subverted his worldview.

To a certain extent, he doubted whether all the historical documents about the French Revolution he had read at the University of London were in vain.

At the very least, there is a question mark over whether Thiers and Guizot, two of the most popular scholars in France at the moment, are credible in their conclusions about the history of the Revolution. After all, both of them currently hold important positions under Louis Philippe, one as dean of counselors and the other as minister of education.

Arthur laughed dumbly and said: "I thought that at least the farmers would support Napoleon, but now it seems that at least the farmers in Brittany don't like him."

When the assassin heard this, he just snorted coldly: "From what you said, you probably have bad friends and have met some hypocritical Bonapartists and republicans. The words they say are always the nicest. . They shout nice words like 'revolution' and 'freedom', but in fact they are promoting incredible hypocrisy as heroic feats.

The Girondins talk about being anti-religious, but in fact they only covet the church's property. For this reason, they do not hesitate to execute our venerable priests. They confiscate the church's land and property, but do not return it to us, and in turn make it worse. Our agricultural tax burden, forcing our children to serve as soldiers, saying that serving the country as a soldier is an honorable act.

Fouche massacred thousands of people in Lyon. They said he was killing nobles, but more than 90% of the people killed were poor ordinary people, the old, weak, women and children. The National Assembly even seriously considered reducing the whole of Lyon to rubble. We took to the streets to protest, and the response was the cavalry who came to suppress us. We launched an uprising in the Vendée, and they accused us of reactionary rebellion.

We were only fighting for our right to survive, but Barel could shamelessly declare in the National Assembly: 'Destroy the Vendée, and Valenciennes and Condé will no longer be controlled by Austria. Destroy the Vendée, and the British will no longer occupy Dunkirk. Destroy the Vendée, and the Rhine will be liberated from Russian rule. Destroy the Vendée, and Spain will be attacked by the victorious armies of southern and western France. Destroy the Vendée, and the resistance of Lyon will cease. Toulon will rise up against the Spanish and the British. At the same time, the spirit of Marseille will rise to the height of a republican revolution. Every blow to the Vendée will provoke a response in the feudal forces and the rebellious cities occupied by foreign invaders. '

They treated us as enemies from the beginning, wanting to kill us, but not allowing us to resist. However, for committing such atrocities, the whole of Europe is praising them, saying that they are progressive and we are backward, but no one is willing to listen to what we, the peasants from the provinces, think. They only have Paris in their eyes.

The king may have many faults, but when the Bourbon were here, no one ever forced us to sacrifice our lives for glory, nor did they impose such heavy taxes on us. If we want to go to war, it is to defend our lords, our land and our beliefs, not to defend some hypocritical France! "