Shadow of great britain

Empress Catherine and I are just ordinary bandits. But I’m curious about how Queen Teresa of Austria confessed to a priest? When she snatches, she always looks like a whimpering little woman. But every time she cried harder, the more she grabbed!

——Frederick the Great

Dear Louis:

I heard that you visited Paris recently and will represent your uncle's coffin in St. Helena on behalf of the Bonaparte family? I have to be honest with you about this, your uncle, your aunt, and your father, they are very angry. They believe that on such a big matter, you should have sought advice at an internal family meeting before making a decision.

But, in reality, you should understand that if you do this, the offer will definitely be rejected. Your elders can see your little thoughts, and so can my mother. But in the final analysis, I am different from them, because you are my son, and mothers always hope that their children can get ahead.

However, if possible, I just want to keep you by my side and take good care of you, and watch you marry a young, educated girl who can obey your character and take care of your children...Those who think I am ambitious are not You will know that they paid such a high price for the power they thought I would remember, and how much I pity their narrow-mindedness.

Because for me, the only thing I need is sunshine, air and you.

your mother

Hortense Bonaparte

April 25, 1833 in Geneva, Switzerland

The small cafe was filled with smoke.

Louis clutched the letter in his hand, and his head felt bigger every time he glanced at it.

If there was anything that bothered him the most recently, it was neither helping young Italy nor bringing back his uncle's coffin from overseas, but his mother started writing letters again urging marriage.

Although many European male aristocrats marry late and have children later in life, it is not particularly uncommon to get married in their thirties or forties.

However, his mother felt that Louis did not need to follow tradition in this regard. The sooner he got married, the better. As a descendant of the Bonaparte family, Louis must contribute to the family's grand plan.

What's worse is that Louis' mother is not just talking about it, she is also very active in arranging blind dates for Louis, and from time to time she will attach one or two aristocratic ladies that she thinks are very good in the letter.

Recently, Louis' mother was still snooping around and asking her son if he was interested in Portugal's natural scenery.

Others may not know what she meant, but Louis, who had relatives of the same generation who tipped him off, soon learned his mother's true purpose.

It is said that a marriage between Louis and Queen Maria II of Portugal was being discussed within the Bonaparte family.

After learning about this situation, Louis quickly wrote a letter to his mother in a righteous manner.

—My father showed by his great example that the fatherland is infinitely more beloved than a foreign throne. Even though he was once the King of the Netherlands, he still missed France all the time. As for me, I let time decide. I believe that my great surname will not always mean an outcast in the eyes of my countrymen, because it reminds the respectable French people of fifteen years of glory. Until then, I will wait calmly and patiently, waiting for the people to recall Bonaparte, who was exiled by 1.2 million foreigners in 1815, to its embrace. To be able to serve France one day as a citizen and a soldier is the only thing I want, and in my eyes, this dream is worthy of all the thrones in the world put together.

Louis's answer was half true and half false.

On the one hand, he did believe that even if the possibility of winning the crown of his motherland France was slim, this slim possibility was more important than the throne of any country.

But on the other hand, he seriously suspected that this was a trick set up by his uncle and the others, whose purpose was to recall him from France so that he could not represent the July Dynasty in returning Napoleon's coffin.

Moreover, even if the plan to marry the Queen of Portugal is finally possible, even if this plan is feasible, it will definitely be strongly opposed by the French July Monarchy government, the Austrian Metternich government, and even the British and Russian governments. Will agree with this marriage.

Now Louis is no longer the stupid young man who rushed to participate in the Carbonari uprising. After several years of experience at Scotland Yard, the most important thing he learned is to be down-to-earth in doing things and never do anything. Eating from the bowl and looking into the pot, what you get is yours.

If you have already accepted the cake that others have drawn for you, then why should they actually give it to you?

All in all, Louis' attitude towards the marriage was just one sentence - I don't believe it, even if it is true, I don't believe it.

However, although he rejected the marriage plan with the Queen of Portugal, his mother had another suitable candidate.

That was a young lady from her natal Beauharnais family. At the same time, this young lady was also Louis' cousin.

But unfortunately, Louis was also not interested in the marriage.

Even though his mother described this young lady as beautiful and wealthy, Louis was still not interested.

As a man, especially a man who thinks he is on the rise in his career, Louis feels that he should focus on his career at this stage rather than continuing the family line.

Secondly, I don’t know whether it was because he stayed in London for a long time and was influenced by the Disraeli boy. Louis also preferred the older lady.

When he was in London, he had maintained a close relationship with a lady he met at the club. After arriving in Paris, he was dazzled by the various social banquets in recent times. Young people's minds are wandering, and naturally they don't want to be bound by marriage for the time being.

But the trouble is, Louis' mother is very determined. She will not hinder her son's political plans and ambitions, but she also hopes that her son can combine his plans with a more emotional life.

"well……"

Louis rubbed his head, and it could be seen that he was indeed very upset, so much so that his hair was mussed into a ball.

A hat flew to the table in front of him. Arthur glanced at his little brother with a pipe in his mouth. He took off his gloves and asked, "What's wrong? The last time I saw you look like this, I was in prison." ”

Louis touched the beard on his chin: "Indeed, my mother is planning to send me to prison herself."

"Huh?" Arthur raised his eyebrows and said, "Is Madame Hortense planning to follow the example of Duchess of Berry and lead an uprising in France?"

"That's not the case." Louis leaned on the chair: "Arthur, are you interested in noble ladies? Most of them like to read medieval knight novels, and you are now a serious knight."

"Come on." Arthur asked for a cup of black tea: "Regardless of whether the knight these ladies imagine is me, even if all they want is a title, I am not a serious knight."

"Why aren't you? Aren't you a knight of the lower rank? This is the oldest knighthood in Britain."

"The knighthood is indeed the oldest in the UK, but it is also the most basic. This title does not represent a formal knight, but a knight's retinue, that is, a trainee knight."

Arthur held the tea cup and took a sip: "In the earliest times, this title was awarded temporarily on the battlefield, specifically to boost morale. Imagine the scene at that time. On the battlefield, the king wanted to order the knights to charge, in order to enable them to Anyone who fights bravely and can ride a horse will be awarded the title of knight of the lower rank. This is the same as the stalls in Covent Garden Market, and the goods are sold wholesale. "

After hearing Arthur's description, and then thinking about what happened to Arthur before he was canonized, Louis couldn't help laughing and said: "In that case, it is reasonable for them to canonize you as a knight of the lower rank."

Arthur put down his teacup, nodded with deep approval and said, "Isn't that true? I was indeed riding a horse, and I actually charged."

"And he almost died."

"No, I did die. But because the Privy Council did not agree with my resurrection, I almost died."

When Louis heard this, he laughed so much that tears came out: "Okay, Arthur, you can't make fun of everything. However, you can say this to those aristocratic ladies who have just grown up and have just joined the social circle. Those girls had better lie. Moreover, trainee knights are also knights after all. There are many people in Britain who can ride horses, and there are a lot of mounted policemen in Scotland Yard, but the entire Metropolitan Police Department has the title of junior knight. Are there only Minister Charles Rowan, Deputy Minister Richard Mayne and you? Of the three of you, Rowan and Mayne were both decorated in the Army, but you were the only one who was awarded the honor for being a police officer. Award a knighthood. Arthur, you are the first in this field!"

Arthur put a sugar cube into the tea cup: "I won't tell this to a noble lady. If she doesn't believe it, she will probably think I'm a lunatic. If she believes it, then the matter will be even bigger. God knows what she has. What if she goes to the church to report me? Louis, don’t you think I have enough troubles?”

"How can this be a trouble? This is a great good thing."

Louis said deceitfully: "Think about it, a wife who is well-educated, cute, considerate, and rich in wealth will give birth to many children. This is a day that many people dream of."

"oh."

Arthur suddenly seemed to understand something: "Did your family arrange a blind date for you?"

Louis suddenly pouted: "I really can't hide anything from you. You are indeed the best detective in Britain."

"Louis, don't you want to tell me that I just applied for a subsidy for young Italians from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and you are about to leave and go on a blind date? I can't handle Mazzini and Gary for this kind of thing. When Purdy opens his mouth, you have to go to them to explain yourself."

Speaking of this, Arthur also made a rather surprised comment: "Historians of later generations must have guessed that the biggest reason for the failure of the Italian Revolution was that our Mr. Louis Bonaparte was anxious to participate in a Dating Ball. Originally they said that Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo because of hemorrhoids. I didn’t believe it, but now, I kind of believe it.”

Louis blushed at what Arthur said. He smiled and cursed: "Get the hell out of here, Arthur, I have no intention of shrinking my eggs. The failure of the revolution was because the leaders rushed to attend the blind date. This is not the case." That’s outrageous.”

Having said this, Louis took out a newspaper from the bag he carried and pushed it out: "Have you read today's newspaper?"

"Of course, but there is nothing interesting about it. If what you want to say is that the French government announced the extramarital pregnancy of the royalist leader Duchess of Berry, haven't I told you this in advance?"

Louis nodded and said: "We did know this news in advance, but the entire French public only knew it. Paris was in chaos today, the royalists all had a nervous breakdown, and the republicans were busy laughing at them, The Bonapartists were watching the show, and from time to time they would chime in. Several well-known royalist literati could not bear the ridicule, and they named several republican literary leaders in newspapers. Duel Book, I want to have a life-and-death duel with them."

When Arthur heard this, the first thing he thought of was Alexandre Dumas: "Alexander wasn't involved, was he?"

"Alexander is very low-key this time. I think it may be because he is also busy helping Young Italy, so he doesn't want to attract too much attention."

Arthur's hanging heart was half relieved: "He didn't stir up trouble, and others didn't stir up trouble with him?"

"Of course not! The royalists are just angry, not stupid. All of Paris knows that Alexander is a sharpshooter. What the royalists want is a duel to the death, not to the death of Alexander."

Arthur tasted it carefully: "It makes sense. But Louis Philippe is probably secretly happy that Paris is in such chaos. The Republicans, Bonapartists, and Royalists are fighting fiercely, and everyone is united. Don't get up, so that the Orleanists can keep their crown."

"not only that."

Louis spoke again: "I attended a dance last night, where I met the daughter of General Arrighi, Duke of Pardou. General Arigi was the person in charge of imposing martial law in Paris after the bombing of the Chateausay mansion, and he I was also responsible for liaising with the Grand Paris Police Department. Therefore, in order to understand the latest developments in the bombing case, I deliberately angered this lady.

I complained to her that the relevant person in charge of the government did not do a good job in pursuing this case. They only caught a few royalist assassins, but it took half a month with no result. If it had been left to Scotland Yard, this case would have been solved long ago. . The young lady responded on behalf of her father and said that the reason why the assassin could not be caught was not because they did not work well, but because there was something hidden in the case.

In fact, the government has identified the criminal's hideout early on, but it has been delayed until now because of other considerations. Moreover, the murderers of the case were not like what the newspapers said - a group of royalists. This case was actually planned and implemented by republicans. The reason why they claim to be royalists is just to blame their opponents and ruin their reputation. "

Arthur's eyes widened slightly when he heard this.

No one in Paris knew better than him who had committed this crime.

However, what the young lady said is not wrong, she is really making a fool of herself.

However, we are not trying to blame the royalists, but the Republicans.

Now, the royalists have suffered a nervous breakdown due to the Duchess of Berry's pregnancy and are furious at the cynicism of the republicans. They could no longer show off their noble status, and their only wish now was to silence those who attacked them.

If the government proposes to block republican newspapers and control their speech at this time, this group of royalists will never object.

Coincidentally, Arthur just learned from Vidocq yesterday that the July Dynasty government seemed to be drafting such a bill.

Therefore, it is self-evident who the person who identified the royalist assassins as republicans was.

Arthur couldn't help but put down his tea cup when he thought of this.

He looked at Louis and hesitated to speak, but finally spoke: "I'm going to meet a few people in a while. If you are interested, you can go with me."