Shadow of great britain

Arthur walked freely on the streets of London. Because he was wearing plain clothes today, he could finally slow down and look at the scenery that was different from the past.

According to the latest task order issued by Sir Peel, in view of the intensifying protests and large-scale gatherings across London, all Scotland Yard police districts have selected a number of experienced police officers and assigned them plainclothes to enter various gathering places to perform secret duties.

It’s not surprising that Sir Peel had a big reaction, because this was not the first time he had held an event like “demanding parliamentary reform and expanding suffrage.”

The first time such a large-scale movement demanding parliamentary reform broke out in Britain was during the French Revolution in 1789.

As Lord Peel emphasized in the Home Office document - every French revolution had unintended consequences in Britain.

The French Revolution of 1789 inspired great political enthusiasm among the lower classes of the British people. It changed the inherent concepts of many British people since the Glorious Revolution and made them realize that politics was not only the private affairs of big shots, but ordinary people were also qualified to participate.

The first person to attack the old ideas was the Reverend Richard Price, an important member of the Sheffield Constitutional Society.

He delivered a sermon titled "On Loving Our Motherland" at an event to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the Glorious Revolution, in which he mentioned a point that was crucial to the subsequent reform movement - the most important legacy of the Glorious Revolution is the people The right to choose their own government and to remove it at any time.

But this view immediately aroused a fierce rebuttal from the Whig literary daring Edmund Burke. Burke published a book "Reflections on the French Revolution" and put forward his views in it.

——The principle of the Glorious Revolution is not to change, but to adhere to tradition. Tradition maintains the existence of society and is therefore the cornerstone of society. The French Revolution led France to collapse precisely because it destroyed tradition. Britain cannot follow in the footsteps of France. It must maintain tradition and ensure national security.

When Burke gained the upper hand, Thomas Paine published The Rights of Man to confront Burke.

Paine emphasized in the book that each generation has the right to choose the political system it likes, and its predecessors have no right to decide. The choice of political system is a natural human right for British people, and British people should fight to the end to defend this right.

But under the current system, workers are deprived of this right, thus causing their widespread poverty. Only by restoring their rights can they be rescued from poverty.

Once Paine's "The Rights of Man" was published, sales exceeded 200,000 copies within one year.

In such a social atmosphere, a series of civil organizations advocating reform were established, and groups with a scale of tens of thousands, such as the Sheffield Constitutional Knowledge Society and the London Correspondence Society, sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

All this frightened the British government, who believed that the emergence of these organizations was a precursor to revolution.

Therefore, in line with the principle of striking first and suffering later, the British authorities quickly arrested important members of the London Correspondence Society and the Sheffield Constitutional Knowledge Society and prosecuted them for treason.

Maggot and Gerald, chairman of the London Correspondence Society, were eventually sentenced to fourteen years of exile, but most of the other members were acquitted by the jury due to insufficient evidence.

With the failure of the French Revolution, the parliamentary reform movement also fell into a trough.

But the memory of the past still exists in the minds of MPs, and this cannot be avoided by Sir Peel.

After all, after decades of verification, the Tories have proven that simply using violence will only make things worse.

Although the Duke of Wellington and Sir Peel opposed parliamentary reform, they also firmly believed that problems should be solved with as little force as possible.

Although this view may seem contradictory, it was the current policy of Wellington's cabinet.

They hope that the British public will forget about parliamentary reform over time, rather than resorting to violent means to suppress the rally.

But judging from Arthur's observations in the past two days, Duke Wellington and Sir Peel's calculations should have failed.

Because this time the people involved in the parliamentary reform were not only the low-key workers, but also the Whigs, a large number of clergy, and the Tory Cannings and extremists.

Judging from the situation that Arthur has observed so far, almost all classes in London are advocating for parliamentary reform.

Although their goals for reform may be different, at least their actions are consistent.

“Whether it’s good or bad, reform always helps!”

“We demand expanded suffrage!”

"Wellington is out of office. He is an old liar from Ireland!"

Arthur mingled among the demonstrators, shouting protest slogans and holding up signs for his companions.

"Down with the Tories! Eradicate Wellington!"

Seeing this situation, Agares couldn't help but glared: "Arthur, aren't you here to monitor them? Why are you still hanging out with them?"

Arthur raised his hand and touched the brim of his hat, looking for an opportunity to get away from the parade. This was not because he was tired, but because he had followed the parade to the Greenwich District Police Station.

He came to an open space at the corner of the street, lit his pipe, and took a long sip.

"Agares, you don't understand. The most advanced form of undercover is to join. At least I also understand that this team seems to be sponsored by the Whig Party, and their actions are just shouting slogans and have no intention of doing anything. Excessive behavior, this is good, it saves me a lot of trouble.”

The Red Devil couldn't help but squint his eyes when he heard this: "Arthur, what on earth are you thinking? You are relying on the Tory Robert Peel to eat, and at the same time you are very close to the Whig Duke of Sussex. .

With all due respect, if you really plan to play politics, it's best not to tread two boats like this. This will not be good for you. You have to know that for those strong politicians, incomplete loyalty equals absolute disloyalty. "

"Agares, this is your fault. I've never been able to stand up for myself."

Arthur blew out his smoke: "You know, I'm a Scotland Yard policeman, and according to internal regulations, I can't hold any political stance.

Just like what I told you about religion before, I don’t choose God or the devil. Both are walls and will cover my eyes.

In politics, I don't choose the Whigs or the Tories. They are both the same. They only act like the light of justice when they are in opposition.

I only agree with them on some issues.

I admire the Whigs for abolition, although most of them support abolition only because most of them are factory owners who don't make any money and need free workers to enter their factories.

On the other hand, I also appreciate the conservative and restrained stance pursued by the Tories. They are peace-loving, although this is also because their supporters include a considerable number of bankers, and war will have no impact on the stocks and bonds they hold. Good influence.

All in all, they each have their own advantages, Agares, times are changing, each party has its own advantages, and we have to see their shining points. "

The red devil rubbed his hands and chuckled: "Come on, Arthur, you little villain. Don't tell me that you don't know. Sometimes not having a position is also a position, and it is also an unflattering position.

Do you know why the Duke of Wellington ended up in the current situation where he was surrounded by enemies from both sides? It was because he planned to take a middle-of-the-road approach that he was not only welcomed by liberals, but was also expelled from conservatives.

Just because he is Wellington, he can still hold on for a while. If someone else had been the prime minister, he would probably have fallen by now.

No matter how loudly these people protesting, they seem to love freedom, but in fact they just hate their masters. What they are angry about is not the unfairness, but the fact that they are in a subordinate position in the unfairness.

Don't let your puny conscience fool you, parliamentary reform is a great opportunity and the choice is now yours.

You can take this opportunity to swear allegiance to Robert Peel, or you can use the Duke of Sussex's connections to submit a vote to the Whigs.

Come on, Arthur, have you decided which side you want to support? A young police inspector of Scotland Yard who is in the limelight may not look like much at the moment, but if you make good use of the intelligence at hand, you can play a role for them immediately.

Should we support reform or oppose reform? Should we choose Whigs or Tories? Don't take the middle road, and don't investigate that slave-trading case. These two things will not do you any good. "

Arthur just glanced at him. He put out the pipe in his hand and said, "Agares, haven't you been encouraging me to be their god? Now that I think about it, it's still too difficult to be a god. , why don’t I be their king.”

When the red devil heard this, he said in surprise: "Oh, my dear Arthur, have you figured it out?"

Arthur nodded, and he said: "Let me give you a message, do you know what the fate of the king is?"

"What is it?"

Arthur put his pipe in his pocket and walked into the police station.

"The so-called destiny of a king is to do good deeds and suffer bad reputations."