Shadow of great britain

The anger of the assassin leader instantly resonated with his companions. These usually taciturn provincial peasants seemed to open up and began to tell Arthur about their experiences with different origins but the same end.

Some talked about the story of his old father being forcibly conscripted by the conscription officer sent by the National Assembly when he was harvesting buckwheat in the field. Some talked about the experience of their family being massacred by the Republican government army. Some angrily slammed the table and accused the Jacobins of tyranny in their hometown. They described in detail the story of an amiable old country priest near his home who was sent to the guillotine because he refused to express an anti-church stance.

But among the experiences experienced by these narrators, they finally converged to a time and place - Vendée in 1793, and the conscription order issued by the National Assembly.

The experiences described by this group of honest peasants are almost completely different from those of Guizot, Thiers and many other historians who stood up for the Republicans or Napoleon. It can even be said that they are worlds apart.

However, apart from the emotional output mixed with personal opinions, Arthur still used his historical literacy to restore the simplest and most appropriate truth.

Three major events occurred in France in 1793: the fall of the Girondists who ruled France, the declaration of war on France by Austria and Prussia, and a series of civil wars led by the Vendée Uprising in France.

If we briefly summarize, it is the occurrence of the first two major events that eventually catalyzed the outbreak of the civil war.

The fall of the Girondists was due to the armed uprising of the Jacobins in Paris. Although the Jacobins seized Paris by force and completely controlled the National Assembly, in fact, they only seized Paris.

In the provinces, many people actually did not like this new government that was not elected but came to power by force.

However, this dissatisfaction was usually only prevalent among officials and intellectuals in the provinces. For the peasants in the countryside, they actually did not care about the Girondists and Jacobins from the beginning.

For these farmers who are busy in the fields all day long, whether it is the king, the Girondists or the Jacobins, they actually look the same. What they care most about is to live a good life and grow their own fields.

These provincial farmers, especially those in the northwest, have never been very concerned about politics.

Brittany and its surrounding areas in the northwest of France are mainly woodlands and swamps, and the population here is not as dense as that in Paris. So for the farmers here, although they don’t live a rich life, it is generally no problem to support their families by farming and grazing.

And most of them are very satisfied with such a life. Even if they occasionally complain, they have never reached the point of wanting to rebel. Since more than a thousand years ago, their ancestors have been living this kind of life, busy in the fields in the morning, managing the livestock in the afternoon, and if they encounter problems that they cannot solve, they usually habitually consult the most prestigious and knowledgeable person in the local area-the priest.

Perhaps in other wealthy areas of France, there are many scums among the priests who embezzle the property of the parish. However, in the mouths of these farmers, priests in Brittany and Vendée are all first-class merciful gentlemen. They help poor believers, enlighten them from their sins, organize believers to dig water conservancy projects during the slack season, and explain the difficult parts of the Bible to them.

As for why these rural priests show such a big difference in personality from priests in wealthy areas, it is not difficult to understand. Because usually only those priests with the most devout faith and the best character can preach in remote areas for decades. If they have any material desires in their hearts, they must have tried every means to find an opportunity to return to the prosperous city.

These farmers from Brittany and Vendée have lived in harmony with priests for a thousand years, and the succession of generations of devout priests naturally makes the farmers regard local priests as their leaders. This dependence is not only material, but also spiritual.

Therefore, when the Republican government ordered the arrest of all local priests who did not swear allegiance to the new government, these farmers who usually look gentle and kind immediately became angry. Many of them participated in protests for the first time in their lives, just to beg the government to release their good priests.

But in January 1793, when Louis XVI was executed, these peasants did not protest at all. When many people heard the news, they just exclaimed: "My God! They actually cut off the king's head!"

However, the arrest of priests alone did not make these peasants take up arms. They were just furious.

What finally intensified the conflict was the government's increase in agricultural taxes and the conscription order of 300,000 people in March 1793.

They did not understand or agree to participate in a war that had nothing to do with them.

In the minds of these Breton peasants, fighting is to protect the land, property and faith of the lord and hometown. If they go to the army, they will only fight near their hometown. If they leave their hometown to fight one day, the most likely possibility is not to participate in any anti-French war, but to join the Crusades under the leadership of the priests.

In the old concept, joining the army was never an obligation, but a right. They did not understand or want to listen to the newly invented words, such as "national interest" or "patriotism". What they could see was that the new government arrested and executed their spiritual leaders, and wanted to force them to leave their farmland to serve as soldiers and die.

What they could not bear the most was that the members of the National Guard sent by Paris were all arrogant. They did not serve as soldiers and die, but wanted to capture others to die.

So, without suspense, when the conscription order of 300,000 people was sent to various provinces, these farmers rose up one after another.

Moreover, this movement could not even be called an uprising at the beginning, because it did not have a unified organizer at all. Usually, the residents of the village joined together to kill the conscription officers who came to violently conscript, or spontaneously attacked the Republican soldiers who were alone and seized their guns and weapons.

Taken separately, each of these riots was not large in scale, but the number was very large.

However, when the Republican government characterized these peasant uprisings as a counterattack and restoration of reactionary feudal forces and began to send troops to suppress them, the peasants quickly united under the pressure of external forces.

But what is ridiculous is that they did not claim to be orthodox royalists at the beginning, and never thought of speaking up for Louis XVI and the Bourbon dynasty. But if they are forced to be characterized, then at most they can be said to be defending the Catholic faith.

When the Republicans regarded this group of peasant uprisings as the base camp for the restoration of feudal forces, the orthodox royalists were surprised to find that they had such a private plot.

However, it is not the royalists' slow reaction, because during the Bourbon dynasty, they always felt that the peasants in Brittany and the Vendée were unruly people, and they were far less respectful of the royal family than other regions.

However, it was this group of the most disrespectful peasants who resolutely stood up when everyone turned to the Republicans.

Therefore, those orthodox nobles who were already discouraged and ready to go into exile abroad also gave up the idea of ​​escaping and took on the task of leading and commanding this peasant army equipped only with spears, sickles and hunting rifles.

The leaders of these peasant armies were also very happy to hand over the command to these authentic nobles. In the words of the peasants, they did so because: "Let the nobles lead us not because they are braver than us, but because they understand strategy and tactics better."

After the nobles joined, these peasant armies without flags began to have flags similar to the "Catholic Prince Army".

The well-trained orthodox nobles who had been tempered in the army for many years also completed their tasks excellently. They inspired the courage of the peasants with the heroic tactics passed down from generation to generation by the nobles.

For example, the romantic Marquis Henri de Vigil of La Roche-Jacquelin, who was only 21 years old, was brave in battle and had a good appearance, and was quite famous in the local area.

During the siege of Tours, when Divirgil saw that the siege was unsuccessful, he led four officers to attack the theater in the city and captured two cannons. His cry to inspire the peasants is still talked about today: "I charge, follow me! I retreat, kill me! I die in battle, bury me!"

In the second Battle of Fontenay, after the noble commander Lesgur gave the order to attack, the rebels hesitated because of fear. At this time, Lesgur rode a white horse and rushed forward alone, waving his hat and shouting: "Long live the king!"

When the Republican Army covered him with a hail of bullets, Lesgur had returned to his army without any damage, and he shouted loudly: "Look, there is nothing to be afraid of! Those Republicans don't know how to shoot at all!"

Under Lesgur's personal demonstration, the soldiers of the rebel army took up their courage and won the Battle of Fontenay in one fell swoop.

However, although the rebels had won a series of major military victories in the early stage and almost captured the entire northwestern town of France, they soon had internal disagreements.

The most hardcore royalist nobles wanted to take advantage of the situation to attack Paris.

The nobles who saw the situation clearly knew the demands of their soldiers very well. These peasants just wanted to drive the Republican government out of their hometown so that they could live a good life, rather than restore the monarchy in Paris. Therefore, they believed that they should capture the entire Brittany based on the existing territory and seek support from Britain across the Channel.

At this time, the rebels also suffered heavy losses in the battle to capture the important town of Nantes. The peasant leader Caterino was hit by a shell and died on the spot. The 22-year-old noble commander, Marquis La Roche-Jacquelin, encountered two Republican soldiers who claimed to surrender to him while leading the remnants of the guerrilla reconnaissance. Marquis La Roche-Jacquelin talked to them and turned away. Unexpectedly, the two soldiers turned around and shot him in the head.

The offensive was not going well, and the leaders of the rebels and the noble commanders died in large numbers, which made the soldiers' morale gradually depressed.

When the Jacobins seized power in Paris and replaced the Girondists, what awaited the rebels was not peace talks, but a tough order issued by the National Assembly - the Western Route Army must immediately launch a general attack on the Vendée rebels and end the war in the northwest.

At this point, the peasants couldn't help but feel a little depressed, and some of them had tears in their eyes.

"You simply don't understand what happened to us. On December 23 of that year, my father and two brothers were massacred in the Savonais Marsh in Lower Loire. My mother also died together. and my sister. They not only raised the butcher knife against the soldiers, but also executed our family members who were accompanying the army.

François Westermann, the butcher, proudly wrote to the National Assembly afterwards: ‘The Vendée Rebel Army no longer exists. I have just buried it in the swamps of Savonais. On command, I trampled the children under the hooves of the horses and slaughtered the women. I didn't leave a single prisoner to blame me, I killed them all. ’

But he was wrong. He did not kill us all, and there are still people who remember the atrocities he committed. Although our voices are not loud, far less painful than those in the city in Paris, we young men from Brittany and Vendée have never been afraid of death.

I just can't stand the way they trample on our beliefs, ignore our rights, and still flaunt themselves as moral role models. They are all a bunch of the most despicable idiots. They were hooligans before they came to power, and they are still hooligans after they come to power. If they have no faith, they will call others no believers. If they have no morals, they will call others immoral. If others do not agree, they will call others reactionary forces. , these are the hypocritical republicans.

They call us a bandit race, but in my opinion, they are the bandits! If they want food, they grow it themselves; if they want clothes, they weave it themselves. But they don't do any of it. They only rob others, increase our agricultural tax, confiscate our church property, and ask us to serve as soldiers to rob it for them. It’s other people’s stuff and that’s what they do well! "

The farmers were all filled with indignation when they heard this.

"Many farmers in other places thought that the Jacobins issued land laws and distributed land to them because of their kindness. Napoleon signed an ecclesiastical treaty with the Holy See and recognized Catholicism as the religion of the majority of people in France. Napoleon was also a believer in God. But in fact, it was all because of what we fought for! Our family members died and our blood relatives went to God, but those who were enjoying the benefits laughed at us for being ignorant and deserved it. They all deserve to die!"

"We should prepare a few more carriages today. I heard that Napoleon's nephew is also in the mansion? All the Republican and Bonapartist partisans are gathered there today, and the duplicitous guy Louis Philippe is also there. , Their sins in the world are countless, and sending them to see God sooner can also help them redeem themselves sooner!"

When Arthur saw such a scene and heard the farmers' self-reports, the words came to his lips and he was speechless.

As for these individual individuals, Arthur can't blame them for what they did. Each of them has sufficient reasons to seek revenge. Even if their behavior is a bit extreme, it is difficult for you to experience these things. Let them develop a correct and peaceful temper.

On the other hand, Arthur suddenly felt a little lucky that he had caught up here today.

Because the assassination techniques used by these farmers are so crude, as long as the Grand Paris Police Department works hard, they will be able to find their hiding place sooner or later.

Arthur thought about it and finally decided to speak: "It's not safe for you to stay here. Although I know that most of you have not thought about going back alive since you came to Paris. But listen to me Yes, instead of losing your life in vain and achieving nothing, it is better to live peacefully..."

Before Arthur could finish his words, he was interrupted by the assassin leader standing at the front: "Sir, this is our business and has nothing to do with you. I just hope you don't report us when you go back. We don't intend to live." But we must at least make something more before we die. There are many things you don't know, and we will definitely be able to do it this time. The Duchess of Berry just launched another uprising in the Vendée last year. Get rid of Louis Philippe and the Bourbons will be back soon."

Arthur glanced at the attire of the assassin leader and knew that this guy was probably from the upper class of the orthodox sect.

He didn't say much, just drank the wine in the glass, then stood up and said: "The Duchess of Berry is pregnant, and it is estimated that she will announce the news of her new marriage soon. According to traditional concepts, Your current leader is not as courageous as those noble leaders back then. She is just an ordinary woman who wants to help her son ascend the throne, but abandons the marriage contract with her late husband, gets pregnant with her lover before marriage, and does not abide by traditional Catholic morals. . So, give up, there will be no good results this time. Besides, you don’t have to worry about me reporting you, because I am a farmer like you, a British farmer."

As soon as Arthur said this, the farmers who had been excited just now were stunned. They didn't know that the Duchess of Berry was pregnant. This was like a bolt from the blue.

Arthur pulled the door handle, paused for a moment, and finally said: "If you need help, you can always come to me at the Breaux Detective Agency at 21 Crosher Perce Street. You can't assassinate me." I don't encourage you to continue such actions, because it is meaningless, but if you want to escape death, maybe I can do something."