Shadow of great britain

An emergency cabinet meeting is being held in the conference room at No. 10 Downing Street.

The gentlemen gathered in front of the conference table, lined up in a row, each one alone is enough to shock the whole of Britain. Visiting any European country can receive extremely high courtesy.

However, these big names who usually only appear in newspapers were silent at the conference table.

Each of them had a thick stack of documents at hand, and the thickest stack was undoubtedly the one in front of the Duke of Wellington.

Duke Wellington threw the information in his hand on the table, rubbed his sore eyes, and said.

"Everyone should have heard about what happened in France, so I won't go into details here. I just want to know what they want to do. Judging from the information we have at hand, this time in France Whether the revolution will bring us uncertain risks. Of course, I also have to know what attitude Austria and Russia have towards this revolution."

When Wellington said this, he suddenly turned his head and looked at the middle-aged gentleman in a black woolen coat sitting on Sir Peel's left side.

Wellington said: "George, has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received any new information?"

The Foreign Secretary, George Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen, showed a bitter smile when his name was called.

"Prime Minister, I have forwarded all the information obtained by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to your case. The speed of the French revolution is too fast.

On July 25, Charles X issued an edict banning publications, restricting press freedom, dissolving the newly elected Parliament, and reducing the scale of elections.

As a result, in the afternoon of that day, major French newspapers began to publish letters of protest and incite revolution.

Small-scale riots began in Paris on the 26th, and turned into large-scale riots on the 27th with thousands of workers clashing with the police.

At dawn on the 28th, thousands of barricades were set up. Workers, students, and businessmen all took to the streets to participate in riots. The Paris City Hall fell before nightfall.

At that time, some moderates also planned to negotiate with Charles X to resolve the issue, but Charles X and Prime Minister Polignac rejected the request for negotiations.

As soon as the news came out, the whole of Paris fell on the 29th.

What we can be sure of at the moment is that Charles X is still alive for the time being, but we cannot be sure whether the new government will kill him.

Now no one is sure where France will go next. Maybe even the French themselves can’t figure it out, let alone outsiders like us. I suggest we continue to observe for a while and wait for the latest news. "

The Duke of Wellington frowned and asked: "It only took a few days to make it like this. What is going on? Are there insiders from the Revolutionary Party in the French army?"

Viscount Henry Harding, Secretary of War, said: "According to the information I have learned, the reason why the French Revolution is progressing so quickly this time is mainly because when Charles X issued the edict, he planned to cut through the mess quickly and force the edict to be passed, so all preparations Everything is kept very confidential.

The results also verified this, and his confidentiality work was indeed done well.

Therefore, when the edict was suddenly issued, not only the French people were surprised and angry, but even the French army and police were caught off guard. They were not prepared to deal with the riots.

And the most important thing is that the main force of the French army is still in Algeria. They just completed the conquest of that area last month, so they cannot be transferred back to the country to fight the rebellion in a short time.

Therefore, the rapid fall of Paris should be understandable from a military perspective. "

The Duke of Wellington held his forehead and said: "This Charles X really has a brain problem! Does he still think he is quite popular?

Look at the Prime Minister he appointed! How on earth did he figure out how to move Polignac into that position?

Didn't he know that there had been rumors that Polignac had an affair with Louis XVI's queen, Marie Antoinette?

This approach is simply provoking the domestic opposition in the face. How come France has always produced such mediocre but extremely confident kings in the past hundred years or so?

Is it just because France had Napoleon that God felt it was unfair to other countries and simply gave them a balance? "

Lord Peel, the Minister of the Interior, said: "In any case, the revolution in France is not a good thing for Britain. The French Revolution caused turmoil in our country, and madmen who wanted to imitate Robespierre emerged one after another in the country. .

Moreover, due to the "Catholic Emancipation Act" and the issue of corrupt constituencies, the domestic public's antagonism has become very high. We must try our best to moderate this over-excited emotion and carefully handle diplomatic issues involving France. "

"well……"

The Duke of Wellington sighed: "Robert, this is also what I am worried about. With the death of His Majesty the King, we were able to temporarily suppress public opinion, but as a result, another revolution broke out in France.

Didn’t His Majesty the King die in vain now? He has finally done something good in his life, and we can't let his efforts go to waste. "

After speaking, he directed the Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Aberdeen, and ordered: "George, in a moment you will send someone to the City of London to find Nathan and ask him to come to Downing Street to see me immediately.

Their postal service is the best in Europe, and no one is better informed.

If I remember correctly, the information from Paris to London would only take three days to reach him. At times like this, we need their help as messengers. "

"As you command, Your Excellency."

Having said this, Duke Wellington turned his attention to Sir Peel again: "Robert, how is your contact with Huskisson? We also need his support very much now."

Sir Peel smiled and said: "William said he is willing to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Manchester to Liverpool Railway, but he has not made up his mind yet on whether to express his support for you.

However, he also frankly admitted that he was extremely shocked by your courage in promoting the Catholic Emancipation Act, which made him have a certain change in your conservative image, so he is very willing to discuss other reform matters with you.

He wouldn't mind leading more than thirty Huskisson MPs back to Tory service if you and he could come to an agreement. "

Duke Wellington nodded slightly: "I believe he and I will have a good start."

"By the way." Sir Peel added: "I have also made arrangements for the security work on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The security work at the site will be led by Inspector Hastings of Scotland Yard. You should have no objection, right?" "

"Of course not. He is an outstanding young man. It will be no problem to leave it to him."

Duke Wellington thought about it for a while and then suddenly said.

"By the way, the murder and corpse selling case has been completed so well. It's time to honor the salary increase promised to Scotland Yard last time. After all, this is a sensitive period, and it's time to give some comfort to our respectable police officers. .

Their job is not easy. I heard that there are more than a dozen large-scale speeches held every day in London recently, and the police are running around to monitor and maintain order at the venue. Not giving them a salary increase is indeed unjustifiable. "

Sir Peel heard this and said with a smile: "Since you took the initiative to mention this, I also want to report to you a new development in police work. You should know that due to the notorious reputation of the French police, the police in Great Britain are The public had long held very deep prejudices about the new Scotland Yard.

This kind of prejudice and confrontation is particularly intense in speech venues. In recent days, I have received several reports of police officers being beaten near the venue.

Therefore, in order to deal with the increasingly chaotic situation, I intend to temporarily authorize a certain number of police officers to be on duty in plainclothes when necessary. In this case, it will not only ensure the personal safety of the police officers on duty, but also collect necessary intelligence for us. What do you think of this decision? "

When Wellington heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Robert, you mean, undercover?"